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Radio Drama & Readings, radio 4, 1999
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The BBC kept very few of these plays after they were broadcast. I estimate that around a third to a half of them exist in known private collections.
THE AFTERNOON PLAY2:15pm Weekdays (1999-01-01) Open Secrets, Pt5 - Vandals (Alice Munro, dram Claire Luckham, dir Marion Nancarrow) w/Buffy Davis, Rhonda Millar and Adam Sims - Five Canadian short stories; Liza's return to a snowy childhood haunt brings back memories of summers both pleasant and disturbing. (1999-01-04) Enoch Arden (Alfred, Lord Tennyson) w/Andrew Sachs - Sachs recites this emotional and enthralling Victorian tale of love, loss and sacrifice - stirringly accompanied by concert pianist Victor Sangiorgio. (1999-01-05) Elemental Tales - Gaia (Unknown, dir Jonquil Panting) w/Lindsay Duncan, Anna Mountford and Giles Fagan - The first of four mysterious tales in which the four elemental forces unleash human passions. In this magical opening story, young Hebe goes looking for her lost mother underground, and is surprised to meet the earth goddess herself. (1999-01-06) A Love Song To The Buses (wri/dir Sarah Woods) w/Victoria Worsley and David Reubin - Dimitris, a young autistic man, travels on the West Midland buses. (1999-01-07) The Head Of Medusa (George Brandt, dir Sara Davies) w/Tim Pigott-Smith and Pamela Miles - Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus Holding The Head Of Medusa is one of the masterpieces of Renaissance sculpture. Drawing on Cellini's colourful autobiography, the play reveals the dramatic story of its creation. (1999-01-08; Rpt) Jerusalem North West (Vanessa Rosenthal, dir Nandita Ghose) w/Sarah Lancashire, David Fleesman and Brigit Forsyth - In this evocative play, a Jewish convert looks back over her life, remembering the man she once fell in love with. (1999-01-11) Contemplating Adultery (Lotte & Joseph Hamburger, adap Michael Butt, dir Claire Grove) w/Penelope Wilton and Bill Nighy - A factually based story. Sarah Austin, a married and thoroughly respectable Victorian translator, conducts a passionate relationship by letter with a raffish German prince. (1999-01-12) Elemental Tales - Bawcock's Eve (Nick Darke, dir Claire Grove) w/Barbara Jefford, Diana Berriman, and Cassandra Holliday - Nick Darke's elemental tale is set in Cornwall. It is mid-winter in Mousehole, and Gran has taken in a mysterious stranger. (1999-01-13) Voyages Of Descent (Clare Seal, narr Fenella Fielding) w/James MacPherson and Robin Thomson - A poetic journey through themes in evolution and creation. As Captain Robert Fitzroy prepares to sail around the world on HMS Beagle, he recruits a young naturalist called Charles Darwin. This decision ultimately leads to tragedy for Fitzroy and fame for Darwin. (1999-01-14) Dogs (Sheila Goff, dir David Hunter) w/Tina Gray, Shirley Dixon, Frances Jeater and Geoffrey Whitehead - A black comedy of revenge set in Dogs' Bodies Kennels and Pet Emporium, Pinner. (1999-01-15) The Girl From Clare (Patricia M Cobey, dir Pam Brighton) w/Cathy Belton, Luke Griffin, Geraldine Plunkett and Pat Laffan - A young student in a small Irish town becomes pregnant. Her boyfriend and parents react with horror, but when her baby is born, she changes all their lives for the better. (1999-01-18) A Soldier's Debt (Nick Warburton, dir Sally Avens) w/Amanda Root, Paul Rhys and Burt Caesar - A missing recording of Macbeth creates a unique tie between three people in war-torn West Africa. (1999-01-19) Elemental Tales - The Fire Inside (Nick Stafford, dir Claire Grove) w/Philip Jackson, Kate Rutter and Jonathan Tafler - A supernatural tale. A stranger seeks shelter in an isolated farmhouse in the depths of winter. (1999-01-20) Goodbye Moses (Jennie Buckman, dir Toby Swift) w/Andrew Rajan, Dominic Carter, Angela Wynter, Giles Fagan and Elizabeth Conboy - A black comedy. As London swelters in a heatwave, Moses Perkes, a Trinidadian ghost, embarks on a quest to find his killers. (1999-01-21) A Slight Tilt To The Left (wri/perf Michael Mears, dir Enyd Williams) - Being a man with an obsession for the sport, Dad is lovingly and appropriately buried within a stone's throw of the local racecourse. Being a man with an obsession for anything askew, Lenny has a problem - his father's headstone is tilting, ever so slightly, to the left. (1999-01-22; Rpt) Spirite (Gautier, dram/dir Michael Fox) w/Katy Cavanagh, Richard Heap and Alison Darling - Gautier's erotically charged ghostly romance, set in 19th-century Paris. Guy is all set to marry Cecile when he sets eyes on the most beautiful young woman imaginable. A love triangle develops, with death as the only possible resolution. (1999-01-25) Dead Men Tell No Tales (Emile Zola, adap Kelvin Segger, dir Peter Leslie Wild) w/Norman Bird, Michael Maloney and Struan Rodger - A dead man watches in horror as everyone around him prepares for his funeral, another man is killed by advertising, and a third postpones his dream for too long. (1999-01-26) Elemental Tales - The Mistral (Hattie Naylor, dir Jonquil Panting) w/Kim Wall and Tracy Ann Oberman - The last of four tales in which the four elemental forces unleash human passions. Jeff's little daughter is born to the sound of the mistral wind. She soon becomes a turbulent force in his well-ordered life. (1999-01-27) Market Research (Steve May, dir Richard Wortley) w/Samantha Bond, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Hugh Ross and Sandra James-Young - A surreal black comedy attacking market forces and sentimentality. (1999-01-28) Nightworkers (Louise Doughty, dir Gillian Berry) w/Harry Myers, Daniel O'Grady and Robert Harper - While checking for bombs in the tunnels under London, Dave and Roy meet a courteous and mysterious young man. (1999-01-29; Rpt) The Orchestra (Jean Anouilh, trans Jeremy Sams, dir Kristine Landon-Smith) w/Joanna Wake, Janine Ulfane and Bernice Stegers - Anouilh's comic masterpiece exposes the hypocrisies and suspicions of the members of a small-town brasserie orchestra in fifties provincial France. Underneath placid exteriors, tensions bubble and seethe - but the band plays on. (1999-02-01) The Yearning (Rosemary Kay, dir Polly Thomas) w/Yvonne O'Grady and Victoria Harwood - Oona is struggling with her life, locked in a soul-destroying existence as a diplomat's wife, aged 36 and desperate to have a child. Her life is turned inside out when she meets Maria, a vibrant Brazilian woman who takes her on a voyage of discovery and adventure up the Amazon river. Together, they find their own spirit children. A story of hope and the future. (1999-02-02) The Dressmaker (Bonnie Greer, dir Alby James) w/Angela Wynter, Josette Bushell-Mingo and David Yip - London, October 1949. After a year spent developing her portfolio and trying to win interest from the London fashion houses, designer Jean Edwards from Jamaica is close to realising that she must contemplate a very different future. (1999-02-03) Portrait (Michael Mundell, dir Janet Whitaker) w/Paul English, Richard Piper, Frank Gallagher, Joy Mitchell and Denis Moore - Sydney, 1944. William Dobell wins the Archibald Prize with a portrait of his friend and fellow artist Joshua Smith. But is it a portrait or a caricature? (1999-02-04) Only A Matter Of Time (Alan Plater, dir Alison Hindell) w/James Bolam and Alan David - When time telling was standardised in the 19th century, not everyone was convinced of the benefits created by this stride in human progress. (1999-02-05) Say It With Flowers (Kevin Wong, dir Frances-Anne Solomon) w/Benedict Wong, Sukie Smith and Daniel York - Valentine's Day starts off all wrong for Tommy when his girlfriend tells him that she is leaving him. Before he has time to pour the milk, she is gone for ever. In revenge, Tommy, a florist's delivery boy, delivers bouquets to all the wrong people - with hilarious and sometimes tragic results. (1999-02-08) The True Memoirs Of Harriette Wilson (Michael Crompton, dir Foz Allan) w/Julia St John, Robert Pugh and Ian Puleston Davies - Britain's last great courtesan tells her story and tries to blackmail her clients. Wellington famously responded, `Publish and be damned.' This is the intimate and thrilling story of a woman who refused to go quietly. (1999-02-09) On The Rob (Rachel Bentham, dir Liz Taylor & Jeremy Howe) w/Anna Massey and John Telfer - In a blend of drama and documentary, four former shoplifters tell their poignant real-life stories. Gillian, a fictional character, dreams of angels, cathedrals and a dragon's lair of treasure. What is she concealing and will anyone ever find out? (1999-02-10) The Letters Of Abelard & Heloise (read by Lynsey Baxter & Anton Lesser, songs of Pierre Abelard, dir Peter Kavanagh) Written in the 12th century, the letters between the ill-starred Abelard and Heloise form some of the most passionate and enduring love correspondence of all time. (1999-02-11) Cuban Solo (David Pownall, dir Martin Jenkins) w/Robert Glenister, Gerard Murphy, Sean Barrett, Jenny Jules, Robert Harper and Peter Gunn - Why was Caturla - the renowned Cuban composer - brutally murdered in 1940? (1999-02-12) Lark Rise & Beyond - Lacemaking & Bees (Flora Thompson, dram Nick Warburton, dir Claire Grove) w/Maggie Steed, Lexi Rose and Adjoa Andoh - A three-part re-creation of rural life at the end of the last century, punctuated by voices from Oxfordshire at the end of this century. (1999-02-15) Praying Hands (Gill Adams, dir Melanie Harris) w/Ann Rye, Sarah Parks, Clare Jordan and Martin Reeve - Three generations of women head for Lourdes for a weekend of arguing, praying and discovery. A funny, hard-hitting and moving story which explores the lies, regrets, dreams and fears of mothers and daughters. (1999-02-16) From Galway To Graceland (Sue Teddern, based on a song by Richard Thompson, dir Paul Dodgson) w/Marcella Riordan, Struan Rodger and Clare Cathcart - In a remote Irish village Marie becomes increasingly fixated with the music of Elvis Presley. One night, after a bitter row, she walks out of her home and sets out on a journey to Graceland. (1999-02-17) Women On Love - Warming Her Pearls (Sarah Daniels, inspired by Carol Ann Duffy's poem) w/Rosemary Leach, Barbara Flynn and Lesley Sharp - Annie decides to reveal a secret affair from her past. But is it too late to repair the damage already done to her daughter and granddaughter? (1999-02-18) Waistland (Tanika Gupta, dir Kristine Landon-Smith) w/Lisa Jacobs, Shaun Dingwall, Lesley Nicol, Isabel Ford, Zitta Sattar, Sakuntala Ramanee and Nick Murray-Browne - Members of a slimming club meet once a week to share their humiliations at being overweight. (1999-02-19) Lark Rise & Beyond - School (Flora Thompson, dram Nick Warburton, dir Claire Grove) w/Maggie Steed, Lexi Rose and Lewis Dodge - A three-part re-creation of rural life at the end of the last century. Children of 1890s Larkrise and pupils from a 1990s Oxfordshire school prepare for a school inspection. (1999-02-22) Hush (Phelim Rowland, dir Jonquil Panting) w/Ariyon Bakare, Kenneth Cranham and Sylvestra le Touzel - Portsmouth 1806. Rescued from a slave ship by Nelson's fleet, Joseph sails into Pompey a free man. But once on land, he is bound by his memories and about to be trapped by his words. (1999-02-23; Rpt) The Night House (Gillian Tindall, dir Sara Davies) w/Helen Sheals, Helen Weaver and John Telfer - Anne, a young newlywed, comes across a schoolgirl's journals which unlock the secrets of the old house into which she has just moved. (1999-02-24) Women On Love - Coat (Tanika Gupta, inspired by Vicky Feaver's poem) w/Adjoa Andoh, Tony Armatrading, Rob Harper and Rachel Atkins - When Yvonne gets a promotion at work, it reveal cracks in her relationship with her husband. (1999-02-25) Assassins - The Virgin Knife (David Pownall, dir Eoin O'Callaghan) w/Samantha Bond and Gerard Murphy - The first in a series of plays exploring the minds of three of history's most celebrated killers. On 13 July 1793, Charlotte Corday, a young woman from Caen in Normandy, travelled to Paris with the sole intention of killing Jean Paul Marat while he sat in his bath. What drove her to such extremes? (1999-02-26) Lark Rise & Beyond - Harvest (Flora Thompson, dram Nick Warburton, dir Claire Grove) w/Maggie Steed and Lewis Dodge - A three-part re-creation of rural life at the end of the last century. At the end of the last century, the men gather in the harvest. Laura collects money for Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Voices at the end of this century record what has become of a rural way of life. (1999-03-01) High In The Clouds (Don Haworth, dir Polly Thomas) w/Stephen Thorne, Christian Rodska and Brigit Forsyth - A humorous story of enterprise, aviation and friendship in a small Lancashire community in the last days of the 1930s - a time when innocence and hope flourished, only to be rudely shattered by the onset of the Second World War. (1999-03-02) People Come Here To Cry (Char March, dir Susan Roberts) w/Sue Johnston - A heartening and humorous monologue about the counselling industry. Fortysomething Deborah Smith comes to an emotional watershed in her life. During the morning vacuuming, a radio chat show mentions the local crisis centre. Deborah girds up her loins, her stock of handkerchiefs and her Thermos flask and prepares to get counselled. (1999-03-03) Women On Love - Lonely Hearts (Helen Kluger) w/Tessa Peake-Jones and Douglas Hodge - Inspired by Wendy Cope's poem. Louise is a successful professional woman, but where is that special someone to share her life? Could a dating agency by the answer? (1999-03-04) Assassins - A Mere Five Thousand Pounds (David Pownall) w/David Horovitch - In May 1812, as Napoleon's armies massed on the Russian borders, the aggrieved John Bellingham, a Liverpool timber merchant, entered the House of Commons and shot dead the then prime minster Spencer Perceval. (1999-03-05) Dry Sherry (Elizabeth Baines, dir Michael Fox) w/Deborah McAndrew and Gilian Cally - Natalie takes on the organization of her ex-mother-in-law's funeral. Natalie manages brilliantly until Marion, the first ex-daughter-in-law, arrives uninvited and very much against the deceased's wishes. (1999-03-08) The Girl From Arles (Alphonse Daudet, trans/adap Michael Robson, dir Enyd Williams) w/John Woodvine, Mary Wimbush and Frances Jeater - The British premiere of Daudet's pastoral melodrama `L'Arlesienne'. (1999-03-09) The Curragh Wrens (Rebecca Bartlett, dir Pam Brighton) w/Dawn Bradfield, Liam Brennan, Aoiffe Kavanagh and Siobhan Miley - In the 19th century, the Curragh Wrens were the wild women who served the British Army. This is the story of one of them. (1999-03-10) Women On Love - The Love A Life Can Show Below (Hattie Naylor, inspired by Emily Dickinson) w/Raquel Cassidy, Ben Onwukwe and Giles Fagan - Annabel is a romantic novelist, passionate about food. But when passion turns to obsession, it has horrifying results. (1999-03-11) Assassins - Sic Semper Tyrannis (David Pownall, dir Eoin O'Callaghan) w/Nathan Osgood and Carlos Antonio - The events of 14 April 1865, when 30 minutes into the performance of `Our American Cousin', in the Ford Theater, Washington, John Wilkes Booth entered President Abraham Lincoln's state box and shot him dead. (1999-03-12) Family Affair (Jayne Hollinson, dir Diane Whitley) w/Paul Bown and Lesley Nightingale - When Suzie embarks on a relationship with Andrew, she soon discovers this also means taking on his two children and Eileen, his separated wife. Andrew and Eileen are learning that being separated is not so easy when you share children - especially when one of them is determined to get you back together. (1999-03-15) Letters From A Strange Land (John Clifford, dir Kate McAll) w/David Brooks and Burt Kwouk - The true story of Will Adams who, in 1598, set off from Kent in a ship bound for the East Indies. Shipwrecked, he found himself in a country strange beyond his wildest imaginings. He had landed in Japan, but it may as well have been the moon. (1999-03-16) The Winter Journey (Patricia Hannah) w/Penelope Wilton, James Fleet, Kenneth Cranham and David Rintoul - G W Fraser and Minna Bluff about an Antarctic expedition to study the embryology of the emperor penguin. (1999-03-17) East Coast Line (Northbound) (Lesley Glaister) w/Wendy Seager, Liam Brennan and Crawford Logan - People travelling on the East Coast line are not what they seem. From the young girl with the baby to the lady in the bizarre hat, each has a secret. (1999-03-18) East Coast Line (Southbound) (Lesley Glaister) w/Wendy Seager, Liam Brennan and Crawford Logan - The man in the cravat says the girl who missed the flight can stop the train by thought power. The vacuum cleaner salesman is taking his dog to a conference and the guard has become a poet. (1999-03-19) M For Mother (Marjorie Riddell, dram Gabrielle Lloyd, dir Pete Atkin) w/Jennifer Dundas Lowe, Rosalind Ayres and Miriam Margolyes - 1954, Wether Bilbury, Cheshire. Mrs Wordsley is coping as best she can with her daughter's move to London. Not that she would seek to intrude. Well, only for Sarah's good. (1999-03-22) Sunday Morning At The Centre Of The World (Louis de Bernieres, dir Kate McAll) w/Robert Powell, Michael Elphick and Patrick Malahide - Early morning, Sunday, and posh Katy sings in the bath. Her cool contralto negotiates the louvres, is filtered by the leaves of hornbeam, and glides above the broken tiles and peeling sills of almost sunny, always grubby, never uppity Earlsfield at the centre of the world. (1999-03-23) The End Of The World Is The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me (Julie Wilkinson, dir Martin Jameson) w/Michelle Holmes, Vincent Davies and Kulvinder Ghir - Comedy about the healing power of Mancunian hedonism. When Lynda is told that the world is going to end, she takes it upon herself to save her friends and family from eternal torment - using any means at her disposal. (1999-03-24) A White Velvet Nightcap In Florida (Stephen Mollet, dir Penny Leicester) w/John Rowe and Tracy-Ann Oberman - Inspired by the letters of the Hungarian writer, Tibor Dery. A young wife tries to help keep the truth of her husband's imprisonment from his elderly mother, but can their trust and love survive? (1999-03-25) Straw Without Bricks (E M Delafield, adap Gwyneth Powell, dir Richard Wortley) w/Gwyneth Powell, Anna Quayle, Kerry Shale and Katherine Canter - The story of E M Delafield's mission to write a humorous book in 30's Russia. The highlight of the trip, seen through the eyes of a middle-class Englishwoman, was the time she spent on a small commune, living and working with the comrades. (1999-03-26) J Edgar Hoover - Red Scare (Mike Walker, dir Ned Chaillet) w/Bob Sherman, Kate Harper and Patrick Allen - In the first of four different plays about the legendary director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, William Hootkins portrays the 24-year-old Hoover who was charged with orchestrating America's first campaign against communism. (1999-03-29) Making Space - The Beast At The Bottom Of The Sea (Roger Nichols) w/Clive Francis.- The first of three drama-documentaries looking at the influence of specific rooms and gardens on the creation of works of literature and music. Claude Debussy's 1915 holiday at Mon Coin, the cottage where he wrote the Twelve Etudes for piano. Illness and the war are conspiring to silence his muse, but he becomes inspired by the sea. (NB: There is scant cast/crew info for this series.) (1999-03-30) Making Space - Send My Roots Rain (Norman White) w/Derek Jacobi - Jacobi stars as Gerard Manley Hopkins in a dramatisation of his final Jesuit retreat to Tullabeg in Ireland in 1889. (1999-03-31) Making Space - The Red Room (Glyn Hughes) How in 1846, Charlotte Bronte accompanied her father, the Rev Patrick Bronte, to Manchester where he was to undergo a cataract operation. They stayed in a room in a boarding house, where in virtual darkness, Charlotte wrote the bulk of her masterpiece `Jane Eyre'. (1999-04-01; Rpt) Pity About Kitty (Jimmie Chinn) Dora Bryan plays all three characters involved in the untimely demise of Awkward Horace. (1999-04-02) J Edgar Hoover - Public Enemy (Mike Walker, dir Ned Chaillet) w/Michael Neill, John Guerrasio, William Roberts, Mac MacDonald, Adam Sims and Dave Brooks - In the second of four different plays about the legendary director of the FBI, William Hootkins portrays Hoover as he sheds his younger self and moves into the orbit of Walter Winchell, America's radio pundit, as they wage war against gangsters, creating and destroying heroes. (1999-04-05) Five Children & It (E Nesbit, dram Malcolm McKee, dir Rosemary Watts) w/Julia McKenzie, Simon Carter and Fiona Christie On a hot, Edwardian summer's day, five children are granted a series of wishes by a strange creature they find in a gravel pit. But, inevitably, things do not go to plan in their enchanted world. (1999-04-06; Rpt) Desert Island Desserts (Alexandra Cadall, dir Sally Avens) w/Nicholas Le Provost, Eddie Marsan and Sue Lawley - When two interviewees from `Desert Island Discs' are marooned on an island, their choice of music and survival techniques fail to live up to expectations. (1999-04-07) Etiquette (Laura Bridgeman, dir Cathryn Horn) w/Rosemary Leach, Anne Carroll and Mona Hammond - A celebration to mark the demolition of an inner-city tower block prompts three of its residents to take stock of their community. (1999-04-08) Woman Of Ice (Bryony Lavery, dir Janet Whitaker) w/Suzanna Hamilton and Matilda Ziegler - High in the Altai Mountains, an archaeologist discovers a princess in the ice. As her story is uncovered, it begins to affect the archaeologist's own life. (1999-04-09) J Edgar Hoover - They Call Him Bobby (Mike Walker, dir Ned Chaillet) w/William Hootkins and John Sharian - The third of four different plays about the legendary director of the FBI is a powerful duologue for US Attorney General Robert F Kennedy and Hoover. It is set in the volatile years of the Kennedy administration, when civil rights, Martin Luther King Jr and the war against the Mafia were high on the Kennedy agenda. (1999-04-12) Dossier Ronald Akkerman (Suzanne Van Lohuizen, trans Saskia Bosch, dir Jocelyn Boxall) w/Kelly Hunter and Christopher Staines - Judith has nursed Ronald at home during the final stages of his illness, but can she accept that he has gone for ever? (1999-04-13) Summoned By Shelves (Lynne Truss, dir Brian King) w/Rachel Atkins, Douglas Hodge and Sam West - Ordered library life descends into a tale of lust, violence, anarchy and incorrectly stacked books. (1999-04-14; Rpt) Airswimming (Charlotte Jones, dir Jonquil Panting) w/Sophie Thompson, Charlotte Jones, Marcia Warren, Elizabeth Bradley and Geoffrey Whitehead - Uplifting comedy of friendship, fantasy and freedom. 1924. Persephone is planning her coming-out ball when she finds herself consigned to a rather puzzling finishing school, St Dymphna's Hospital for the Criminally Insane. (1999-04-15) The Property Of Colette Nervi (William Trevor, dir Roland Jaquarello) w/Trudy Kelly, Marcella Riordan and Don Wycherley - When a visiting French woman's necklace and handbag disappear, it has considerable repercussions for a small rural Irish community in the late 60s. (1999-04-16) J Edgar Hoover - Private & Confidential (Mike Walker, dir Ned Chaillet) w/William Hootkins and David Soul - The last of four powerfully distinctive plays about the legendary director of the FBI. Hoover's life is reviewed by his lifelong companion and assistant director, Clyde Tolson. (1999-04-19) Future Perfect (Charlotte Jones, dir Claire Grove) w/Lesley Vickerage, Harry Myers and Sandra James Young - A doctor disappears, and his wife discovers an army of missing persons in her search for him and the future perfect. (1999-04-20) Jingle (Michael Z Lewin, dir Pam Fraser Soloman) w/Sharon D Clarke and Shezwae Powell - A day in the life of Savannah, a successful jingle singer who makes good money but is still searching for something more. (1999-04-21; Rpt) John Dodd Gets Taken For A Ride (Richard Lumsden, dir Gillian Bevan) w/Peter Gunn and Rowena Cooper - Born with learning difficulties, John has been hidden from his Derbyshire village by his parents. His view of the world, though limited, has its own brand of humour, insight and poetry. His careful routine is broken when his uncle arrives to take him out in a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. (1999-04-22) I See The Moon (Alex Ferguson, dir Melanie Harrie) w/Cliff Howells, Kathryn Hunt, Russell Dixon and Mary Cunningham - A thrilling ghost story about a lost childhood, told by a man whom no one believes. (1999-04-23) The Abduction Of Esther Lyons (Sam Boardman-Jacobs, dir Tanya Nash) w/Siriol Jenkins, Melanie Walters and Christian Rodska - Based on a true story set in Cardiff in the 1860s. Esther Lyons is a 17-year-old Jewess who becomes a Baptist. Her father swears she was abducted and was not a willing convert. (1999-04-26) 46 Nursing Homes (Ruth Silcock, dir Jules Wilkinson) w/Rosemary Leach and Marcia Warren - A drama based on a sequence of poems by Silcock charting her experience of finding appropriate residential care for her mother - a search involving nearly fifty nursing homes. (1999-04-27; Rpt) The Servant's Room (wri/dir Don Taylor) w/Michael Jenn, Catherine Russell and Cheryl Campbell - Walls have secrets, and when Adam and Belinda find a small cupboard plastered over in the attic room of their new house, they discover the story of what happened in the servant's room - or they think they do... (1999-04-28) When We Were Queens (Peter Straughan, dir Melanie Harris) w/Dax O'Callahan and Leyland O'Brien - A group of runaway teenage boys are briefly lifted above their daily hardships when they become Shakespeare's great queens. (1999-04-29) Encore (Nan Woodhouse, dir Tracey Neale) w/Julia McKenzie and Timothy West - Let's work together, you said. Strictly professional, you promised. A shot in the arm for our careers... Why did I listen? (1999-04-30) The Secret Of Fire (Steve Hennessy, dir Michael Fox) w/Valerie Lilley, Rachel Smith and Andrew Wear - Moving drama about childhood abuse and recovery. Julie finds hope through the internet, while her mother Ellen struggles against the mysterious smell of leaking gas. (1999-05-03) Love In A Cold Climate (Nancy Mitford, dram Claire Luckham, dir Marion Nancarrow) w/Amanda Root, Barbara Jefford and Teresa Gallagher - To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the novel's publication. An invitation to a grand party at Hampton, home of the fabulously wealthy Montdores and their beautiful daughter Polly, brings Fanny straight into the world of the aristocracy, and in and out of love when the temperature drops. (1999-05-04) Julie Enfield Investigates Murder West One - A Cure For Death (Nick Fisher, dir Richard Wortley) w/Imelda Staunton and Ross Livingstone - A mysterious death leads to an investigation of Harley Street doctors and cutting-edge medicine of a very non-Hippocratic variety. (1999-05-05) Glad To Be Back (Ed Jones, dir Polly Thomas) w/Paul Barber and Mona Hammond - An award-winning comedy by offering some hard-hitting insight into human nature. Opera-loving Lezzo is on home leave for the weekend. His prison term is due to end in four weeks' time, and he is looking for a little innocent enjoyment. His friends have other plans in mind, however, and his mother has worrying news. (NB: Not billed as an Afternoon Play but in the same timeslot - may be a repeat.) (1999-05-06) Starry Eyes (Lucy Catherine, dir Jeremy Mortimer) w/Robin Weaver, Barry Foster and Tessa Worsley - Leanne washes up in an all-night cafe. Remembering the lessons her father taught her, she finds consolation in the constellations. One day she sees a new star. (1999-05-07) A Venture Too Far (Julia Keay) Scotland has a parliament once more. Three hundred years ago, political union was forced upon a bankrupt nation. Half of Scotland's wealth and thousands of lives had been lost in a disastrous venture which attempted to set up a Scottish trading colony in Panama on the Isthmus of Darien. This tragic story is brought to life as a moving drama for the dawn of devolution. (NB: No cast/crew billed.) (1999-05-10) The Last Obit (Peter Tinniswood, dir Enyd Williams) Billie Whitelaw stars as an obituarist living in her own very particular world in this monologue written especially for her by Tinniswood. (1999-05-11) Julie Enfield Investigates Murder West One - The Art Of The Matter (Nick Fisher, dir Richard Wortley) w/Imelda Staunton and Ross Livingstone - A strange theft and a clever scam in one of London's art galleries around New Bond Street ultimately leads to murder. (1999-05-12) Getting Off The London Train (Carol McGuigan, dir Polly Thomas) w/Charlie Hardwick, Fiona McPherson and Rosalind Bailey - Newcastle-based Jackie has just lost her father. Down south, Imogen has found her real mother, who fled Newcastle for London in the 60s, and she sets out to discover the father she never knew through his home town. (1999-05-13) The Immortals (Robin Brooks, dir Clive Brill) w/Kevin McMonagle and Gary Bakewell - Charles Rennie Mackintosh is one of the greatest architects and designers Scotland has produced. Much of his early inspiration came from a collaborative group of artists and lovers for whom immortality was the ultimate goal. But art and love rarely last forever. (1999-05-14) The New Look - Tailor's Tacks (Juliet Ace, dirTanya Nash) w/Vanessa Mullaley, Jennifer Hill and Margaret John - A trilogy of plays about Mattie Jones's childhood in South Wales. It is 1946 and Mattie loves spending time next door in the tailor's workroom, where the adults often forget that she is there and say things they should not. (1999-05-17; Rpt) Incident At Harar (Judith Somerville, dir Cherry Cookson) w/Diana Quick and John Rowe - Whilst on holiday in Ethiopia, a woman is seriously injured in a terrorist explosion. In intensive care back in England, the pain-killing drugs cause endless hallucinations which create a vivid canvas of other worlds and experiences. (1999-05-18) Julie Enfield Investigates Murder West One - Five Star Killing (Nick Fisher, dir Richard Wortley) w/Imelda Staunton and Ross Livingstone - At a glitzy London hotel, the body of an unknown woman is found in the service area where champagne bottles are the only litter. (1999-05-19) The Whitsun Weddings (Kathleen Jamie) A verse drama based on the poem by Philip Larkin. On a Whit weekend at the end of the 50s, Philip Larkin caught a train from Hull to London which was boarded by a number of newlywed couples. He turned his observations about them into one of his best-known poems. Forty years later, three of the couples and the daughter of the fourth look back on that day. (NB: No cast/crew billed.) (1999-05-20; Rpt) And The Birds Are Still Singing (Nick Fisher, dir Richard Wortley) w/Freda Dowie and Kim Wall - When a young couple visit an old house with a view to buying it, they are unaware of the memories of 80 years contained within it... (1999-05-21) The New Look - Beeny's Camiknickers (Juliet Ace, dir Tanya Nash) w/Stephanie Wookey and Jennifer Hill - In the winter of 1947, Mattie spends most of her time with Beeny in the bakery, where she learns to make faggots and discovers the perils of flirting with boys. (1999-05-24; Rpt) Parson Skinner of Camerton (Kate Withers) w/Timothy West and June Barrie - The journals of John Skinner, who held the living of the parish of Camerton in Somerset between 1800 and 1839, are the basis for a dramatised feature about the village, past and present. (1999-05-25) Julie Enfield Investigates Murder West One - Soho Espresso (Nick Fisher, dir Richard Wortley) w/Imelda Staunton and Ross Livingstone - The dead man in a room above a Soho coffee bar owns the adjacent shop. The day's takings are left untouched, so robbery is clearly not the motive. (1999-05-26) Cloudberries (Elaine Feinstein, dir Erin Riley) w/Linus Roache and Emily Mortimer - On the bicentenary of his birth, this is the story of Alexander Pushkin, the undisputed father of Russian literature. He was the son of a feckless aristocrat and descended from the African slave of Peter the Great. A rebel, an exile and a reckless libertine, he died in the snow in a duel over his wife. (1999-05-27; Rpt) Minty Alley (Margaret Busby, dir Pam Fraser Solomon) w/Geff Francis, Vivienne Rochester and Burt Caesar - Award-winning dramatisation of the only novel by C L R James. A young man is forced to leave middle-class security and move into a household that seems to thrive on passion and violence. (1999-05-28) The New Look - Celluloid Lady (Juliet Ace, dir Tanya Nash) w/Stephanie Wookey and Jennifer Hill - It is 1948 and Mattie is now fascinated by Mona Morgan and her daydreams about Hollywood film stars, as she pulls pints in her father's pub. (1999-05-31) Let It Bleed (Ian Rankin, dram Roger Danes) Political corruption and insider dealing are uncovered as hard-boiled Edinburgh detective John Rebus explores the dark underbelly of modern Scotland. With Alexander Morton and Caroline Loncq. Director Gaynor Macfarlane. (1999-06-01) The Queen's Retreat (Tanika Gupta) A romance with chess. Bela is a keen chess player, but when her husband cheats on her, she retreats from life's game. With Shelley King, David Allister and Alice Arnold. Director Jonquil Panting. (1999-06-02) Devonia - The Beano (Andy Rashleigh) Three plays about the life and times of a paddle steamer and its crew are depicted across three decades. A works outing in 1911 reunites childhood sweethearts. With John Duttine and Sophie Thompson. Director Cherry Cookson. (1999-06-03) Monster Man (Bernard Kops) Willis O'Brien could create life from lifelessness using the painstaking art of stop-motion animation. By 1933, his work achieved immortality as audiences were enthralled by his greatest creation, `King Kong'. Like Kong, O'Brien ruled supreme in his own imaginary kingdom, but he was powerless to control the tragic events of his own life. With Garrick Hagon and Lorelei King. Director Mark Burman. (1999-06-04) Profile (Steve May) Rosewell College of Higher Education is in the throes of change. Terry has been gazumped for the job of Dean by nerdy Nigel, who now threatens to chase industrial sponsorship at any cost. With Russell Dixon and Nicholas Farrell. Director Peter Kavanagh. (1999-06-07) Sirens Of Fleet Street - Free-Minded Albion's Daughter (Lavinia Murray) Three plays examining the lives and writing of three pioneering women journalists. Introduced by Kate Perry. Bessie Parkes and her friend Barbara Bodichon were the founders of the English Woman's Journal, the first newspaper owned, written and printed by women. This drama tells Bessie's story. With Amanda Root and Sarah Parks. Director Susan Roberts. (1999-06-08) Those Old Metal Things (Trish Cooke) Jamaican born Auntie Mu scrubs and cleans at her pots and pans until they gleam. When Rachel, her niece, calls for help, it seems they do not understand each other. A play exploring marriage, relationships and the similarities and differences between different generations of women. With Mona Hammond, Cathy Tyson and Claire Benedict. Director Pauline Harris. (1999-06-09) Devonia - Day Trip (Andy Rashleigh) 1925. Harry's life aboard Devonia is made a misery by a group of upper-class undergraduates on a day trip to celebrate the end of their finals. With John Duttine and Emilia Fox. Director Cherry Cookson. (1999-06-10; Rpt) Sounds Of Silence (Jill Truman) When Lisa wakes from her anaesthetic, the only sounds are inside her head. With Julia McKenzie and Ian Brooker. Director Sue Wilson. (1999-06-11) London Particulars - The Last Of The Bow Street Runners (John Peacock) Four Victorian detective thrillers starring Todd Carty as Pip Shepherd. A peeler and a Bow Street runner join forces to solve the mystery of a murdered earl. With Charles Simpson and Maggie McCarthy. Director David Blount. (1999-06-14) Sirens Of Fleet Street - Change Of Heart (Felicity Goodall) Mea Allan (1909-1982) was the first female war correspondent to be permanently accredited to the British Forces and the first female news editor in Fleet Street. With Siobhan Redmond and Brigit Forsyth. Director Felicity Goodall. (1999-06-15; Rpt) Mary Something Takes The Veil (Charlotte Jones) A novice nun is about to take her final vows. All the nuns are called Sister Mary Something, the name of the saint to whom they dedicate themselves. She must find the right one before Brother Paul comes to take her confession. With Colleen Prendergast and Akbar Kurtha. Director Claire Grove. (1999-06-16) Devonia - Night Boat (Andy Rashleigh) 1936. Devonia has a curious group of passengers aboard who may well be spies. Meanwhile, will Harry and Mercy finally tie the knot? With John Duttine and Sophie Thompson. Director Cherry Cookson. (1999-06-17) Fast Girls (Diana Amsterdam) In the Manhattan of the late 90s, a thirtysomething woman can get confused about men and marriage. That's when she needs her mother to fly in from Miami. With Linda Larson and Josh Hartung. Director Eoin O'Callaghan. (1999-06-18) London Particulars - A Cuckoo In The Nest (John Peacock) With Charles Simpson and Maggie McCarthy. Director David Blount. (1999-06-21) Sirens Of Fleet Street - Miss Thingummybob (Janys Chambers) Emilie Peacocke, the daughter of a respected Northern newspaper family took Edwardian Fleet Street by storm when she refused to take no for an answer in her quest to become a journalist. She made her mark as the first female journalist on The Daily Express. (1999-06-22) The Lewes Kiss (Keith Darvill) Earlier this month, Rodin's sculpture `The Kiss' was returned by the Tate Gallery to the Assembly Rooms in Lewes where it last stood in 1917. Keith Darvill's dramatic feature explores the background to the commission of this erotic masterpiece by Bostonian aesthete Edward Perry Warren, whose Lewes home became a semi-monastic shrine to art, erudition and `Uranian' love. (1999-06-23; Rpt) Render Unto Caesar (Patrick J Power) An old man is dead and a large sum of money is missing. It is rural Ireland and the powers that be - the priest and the guards - move in. With Pauline McLynn, Owen Roe and Pat Laffan. Director Pam Brighton. (1999-06-24) The Shade Catcher (Michelene Wandor) Fiona Shaw travels with dramatist Wandor on a journey into the world of the poet Charlotte Mew. Mew was a tragic figure who never married, possibly due to fears of hereditary insanity, and in 1928 she killed herself. But her poetry was admired by writers such as Thomas Hardy and her strange imagination is revealed in excerpts from her play `The China Bowl'. With Fiona Shaw and Anna Massey. (1999-06-25) London Particulars - Out On The Drag (John Peacock) Pip goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of `draggers' led by the sinister Brock. With Charles Simpson, Ioan Meredith and Tessa Worsley. Director David Blount. (1999-06-28; Rpt) Retouching (Jane Cassidy) A woman brings an old photo to a studio to be retouched and asks to have the child in it erased. The retoucher is determined to find out why. With Marie Jones, Ian McElhinney, Margaret D'Arcy, Simon Magill, J J Murphy, George Shane and Brenda Winter. Director Pam Brighton. (1999-06-29) Bodies & Souls (Martyn Wade) Harry's long and tedious marriage to selfish Joyce reaches an all-time low when she begins to experience reincarnation. Her claims that the simplest domestic item contains the soul of a long-lost loved one has Harry reaching for desperate measures. With David Horovitch, Marcia Warren and Gerrard McDermott. Directed by Cherry Cookson. (1999-06-30) Not My Problem (Ayshe Raif) Fifteen-year-old Stuart is being interviewed by a pushy new teacher. He looks after his disabled parents and lives in a private world that the teacher can only guess at. With Ben Crowe, Amelia Lowdell, Mary McCusker and Tom Mannion. Director Claire Grove. (1999-07-01) The Glad House (Michael Punter) What to do about Dad? He talks to his pigeons more than he does to his daughters, and he has some very odd ideas about his dog. With Peter Vaughan, Frances Barber and Nathalie Armin. Director Jane Morgan. (1999-07-02) London Particulars - The Kitten-Houser (John Peacock) Pip and Thomas investigate a sophisticated vice ring operating at the highest level. With Charles Simpson, Maggie McCarthy and Stephen Critchlow. Director David Blount. (1999-07-05) Sappho's Orchard (Natalia Power) When Kate realises her ambition to study classics at Cambridge, she finds her life in emotional turmoil as she is torn between two very different people. With Julia Ford, Emma Fielding and Jonathan Cake. Director Cherry Cookson. (1999-07-06; Rpt) The Brighton Line I - From A Distance (Maggie Allen) Award-winning journalist Abi Maguire reluctantly returns to look after her ailing father in Brighton, only to discover her talents are needed there more than in London. With Frank Windsor, Emma Fielding and Maggie Steed. Directed by Marion Nancarrow. (1999-07-07) Plum's War (Michael Butt) Soon after his internment in wartime France, P G Wodehouse begins, inexplicably, to broadcast on German radio - a phenomenon which provokes his contemporary, George Orwell, into a complete intellectual upheaval. With Benjamin Whitrow, Nicholas Farrell and Henry Goodman. Director John Taylor. (1999-07-08; Rpt) The Strange Petitioner (Joe Dunlop) A dramatisation of the life of Robert K Andrews, who sat in the House of Commons every day from 1963 until just before Christmas 1997. He was not an MP, nor was he a lord; his seat was in the central lobby and by night he lived on the streets of London, which is where he died on Christmas Day. With Tony Benn, Peter Bottomley, Emma Nicholson and Bernard Weatherill. Starring John Rowe and Miles Anderson. Director Alastair Wilson. (1999-07-09) The Drought (Stephen Dunstone) Jean's former home, submerged in a reservoir, has been uncovered by a drought. Her visit there does not bring back the happy memories her nurses expect. With Kathleen Helme, Angela Wynter and Susan Cookson. Director Janet Whitaker. (1999-07-12) For The Love Of Strangers (Susan Stern) Amidst the chaos of a family weekend, Jayne stumbles upon a dark and little-known episode in York's rich history - the 12th-century massacre of the city's Jewish population. With Kathryn Hunt, Robin Bowerman and Brigit Forsyth. Director Toby Swift. (1999-07-13) The Brighton Line II - Close To Home (Maggie Allen) Abi comes back to Brighton to find her father struggling with domesticity and an old school friend in distress. With Frank Windsor, Emma Fielding and Jimmy Yuill. Directed by Marion Nancarrow. (1999-07-14) Out In The Dark (Vanessa Rosenthal) When poet Edward Thomas volunteered for service in the First World War, he left behind a wife and three young children. He had only recently become a poet, partly as a result of meeting Robert Frost. Vanessa Rosenthal draws on the journals, poems and letters of Helen and Edward Thomas in this fascinating story. With Vanessa Rosenthal, Stephen Tomlin and Oona Beeson. Director Peter Leslie Wild. (1999-07-15) The House That Hearst Built (Unk) It began as a `little' something on a Californian ranch and ended up as `Hearst Castle', one of the most extravagant homes in the world, fruit of a three-decade-long collaboration between publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst and architect Julia Morgan. This drama documentary draws on their correspondence, charting the growth of the house and its problems. With William Hootkins and Gayle Hunnicut. (1999-07-16; Rpt) Fair Game (Dave Simpson) Christian Rodska and Maggie O'Neill star in a psychological thriller. Tom is infatuated with his employee Sue and starts to subject her to sexual harassment. But his whole world starts to tumble around him as he becomes involved in murder and blackmail. Director Diane Whitley. (1999-07-19) Tutti Frutti Holy Man (Harwant Bains) Kulwant is taken by his mother for his first visit to the Punjab. When it emerges that she intends them both to stay there for good, Kulwant's world is blown apart. Then she meets the Tutti Frutti Holy Man. With Michael Pacheco, Shelley King, Indira Joshi and Bhasker Patel. Director Jonquil Panting. (1999-07-20) The Man In The Moon Moon Day (Janet Smith) 1991. While the Soviet Union is undergoing cultural meltdown, the Irish village of Taree remains largely untouched, until Malloney tunes in to a mysterious voice on the equipment in his garden shed. With T P McKenna, Frank Kovacs and Janet Maw. Director John Taylor. (1999-07-21; Rpt) The Charm Factory - 1: Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes (Sue Teddern) Teddern's four-part drama, set in 1953, follows the lives of six students of the Meteor Charm School. September. Irene Gilbert has been given the hairstyle, the lifestyle and a shot at stardom - but first she has to break up with Eric. With Tabitha Wady, Dinah Sheridan and Liz Fraser. Director Marion Nancarrow. (1999-07-22) What's To Be Done With Algernon? (Michael Allen) In his day, Algernon Charles Swinburne was an enormously famous poet, but, left to his own devices, he would undoubtedly have drunk himself to death. His lawyer and close friend, Theodore Watts-Dunton, was determined this would not happen. With Jonathan Elsom, Nigel Anthony and Tracy Wiles. Director Tracey Neale. (1999-07-23) Cool (Tina Pepler) The charming story of how an old girl becomes a young woman. With Siobhan Flynn, Margaret John, Melanie Walters, Giles Thomas, Holly Nickolas and Lucy Grew. (1999-07-26) McLevy (David Ashton) Ashton's Victorian detective story is based on the memoirs of a real-life Edinburgh policeman - the imposing and tenacious Inspector James McLevy. The death of an evangelical preacher leads McLevy to the `Happy Land,' a den of iniquity ruled over by a veritable queen of crime. With Brian Cox, Phyllis Logan, John Paul Hurley and Eliza Langland. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-07-27; Rpt) The Devil & Paganini (Hattie Naylor) Tom Baker plays Beelzebub in Hattie Naylor's play about virtuoso violinist Nicolo Paganini and an English journalist intent on eliciting from the maestro the secret of his genius. With Marcello Magni, David Bamber and Bart Ruspoli. Director Jeremy Mortimer. (1999-07-28; Rpt) The Charm Factory - 2: Rags To Riches (Sue Teddern) October. Irene has lost a friend, but she is about to act with dishy screen idol Hugh Lincoln. With Tabitha Wady, Dinah Sheridan and Liz Fraser. Director Marion Nancarrow. (1999-07-29) The Several Lives Of Monsieur Nadaud (Gillian Tindall) Biographical drama about Frenchman Martin Nadaud, who rose from obscurity to political triumph before being exiled to England in the mid-nineteenth century. Gillian Tindall's play explores the secrets of his incognito years at an English boys' school. With Thierry Harcourt, Carolyn Backhouse and Geoffrey Collins. Director Sara Davies. (1999-07-30) Letter To My Mum (Judith Johnson) A young woman talks to her mother, now ten years dead, about the events in her life. Her joy at the arrival of her baby son is tinged with regret that her mother cannot be there to share him. Performed by Julia Ford. (1999-08-02) The Summer Book (Tove Jansson, trans Thomas Teal) A grandmother spends her last summer with her granddaughter on an island in the Gulf of Finland. Dramatised by Catherine Czerkawska. With Phyllida Law, Sophie Thompson and Victoria O'Donnell. Director Marilyn Imrie. (1999-08-03) Def To The Rep (Leonora Brito) Debbie is addicted to selling. Her daughter is obsessed with the film `Grease'. When their two worlds collide with a squeegee man at the local roundabout, mayhem ensues. With Suzanne Packer, Lynne Seymour and Michael Geary. Director Tanya Nash. (1999-08-04; Rpt) The Charm Factory - 3: Broken Wings (Sue Teddern) November. Britain's favourite good-time girl, Phyllis Dent, may not be all she appears. With Tabitha Wady, Dinah Sheridan and Luisa Bradshaw-White. Director Marion Nancarrow. (1999-08-05) Maru (Bessie Head, dram Cheryl Martin) A romantic drama set in a Botswana village where cast and class maintain order, and prejudice destroys lives. Margaret Cadmore is descended from the San people. A new teacher in a small village, she is branded a `masarwa' - a bushman, a slave. The community is outraged when the paramount chief elect falls in love with her. With Adjoa Andoh and Colin Salmon. Director Pam Fraser Solomon. (1999-08-06) Home (Hattie Naylor) One night, two children are abandoned in the forest by their parents and forced to fend for themselves. This story of Hansel and Gretel is retold alongside the real-life stories of three homeless people who describe the fears, freedoms and friendships of life on the road. With Candice Davies and Michael Wilson. Director Marc Jobst. (1999-08-09) Letters To An Icon - Part 1 - Novelists Alice Thomas Ellis, Jane Rogers and Beryl Bainbridge address letters to their personal icons, reflecting upon the lives of St Teresa of Avila, Mary Wollstonecraft and Captain Scott. With Kate Rutter, James Quinn and Nicholas Blane. (1999-08-10) Petrella - 1: Good Fences Make Good Neighbours (Michael Gilbert, dram Michael Butt) Four stories by Michael Gilbert starring Philip Jackson as the lugubrious Detective Petrella, an Oxbridge-educated South London sleuth. Petrella pits his wits against the ingenious and elusive killer of an apparently innocent woman. With Nicky Henson, Mamta Kash and Christian Rodska. Director John Taylor. (1999-08-11; Rpt) The Charm Factory - 4: You Belong To Me (Sue Teddern) December. Irene plans a change of image, but love and Hollywood may intervene. With Tabitha Wady, Dinah Sheridan and Luisa Bradshaw-White. (1999-08-12) Tower To The Sun (Allan Prior) When John Bickerstaffe visits the Eiffel Tower in Paris, he has a dream that such a magnificent construction could bring fame and fortune to the newly created seaside town of Blackpool. But when he tries to persuade the townsfolk, it seems that his vision is a little too `modern' for a conservative society at the end of the 19th century. With Peter Gunn, Stephen Thorne and Sean Barrett. Director Richard Wortley. (1999-08-13) The Cat In The Kennel (John Hegley) A comedy adventure. Dorothy the Kennel Horse, Freddie Four Legs with his massive mouth and Jazmine the Jazz Crocodile, live in a world of words which Bella and Tjinda stumble on when they crawl into a kennel. With Kathy Burke, David Throughton and John Hegley. Director Kate Valentine. (1999-08-16) Letters To An Icon - Part 2 - Writers Stan Barstow and Alan Plater address letters to their personal icons, J B Priestley and Duke Ellington, while Russell Hoban travels up a mind-river to interview his hero Lord Jim about character, destiny and fiction. With Richard Heap, Malcolm Hebden, James Quinn and Nicholas Blane. (1999-08-17) Petrella - 2: The Myth Of Return (Michael Gilbert, dram Michael Butt) Murder in the marshes, and the foggy nature of truth... With Nicky Henson, Jamie Glover and Mamta Kash. Director John Taylor. (1999-08-18) In Deep Water (dram Malcolm McKee) Three teenagers find themselves challenged by the power of water in three stories. With Annabelle Dowler, Robert Harper, and Fiona Christie. Director Sue Wilson. (1999-08-19; Rpt) The Whispering Tree (Tanika Gupta) A year after her mother's death, 14-year-old Sharmila prefers to escape into a world of Hindu myth and legend rather than confront her guilt and pain. With Parminder K Nagra, Souad Faress and Lyndam Gregory. Director Pam Fraser Solomon. (1999-08-20) Over The Horizon (Rin Takagi, adap Lizzie Slater) Haunted by a tragedy at her school in Tokyo, Shoko Mizuki runs away from home to a promised land... With Megumi Shimanuki, Elly Fairman and Kazuko Hohki. Director Hazel Castell. (1999-08-23) Goethe Reborn (wri/pres David Constantine) To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Germany's greatest writer, a retracing of his famous Italian journey during which he experienced a spiritual, sexual and creative rebirth. Starring Simon Russell Beale, Harriet Walter and Emily Woof. (1999-08-24) Petrella - 3: Vengeance Foreseen (Michael Gilbert, dram Michael Butt) Petrella pursues a violent killer. With Nicky Henson, Mamta Kash and Michael Cochrane. Director John Taylor. (1999-08-25) Harvey Angell (Diana Hendry) Adapted by Hendry from her Whitbread-prizewinning children's book. Ten-year-old Henry, his aunt Agatha and the other residents of her dingy guesthouse find their lives transformed by a new lodger, whose attic room becomes the centre of some very peculiar electrical activity. With Chris Harris, Michael Wilson and Josephine Tewson. Director Sara Davies. (1999-08-26) The Sense Of Balance (Unk) When the cat's away... one mouse in particular wants to play! A true story of lust, lost keys, a Glaswegian window ledge and some lessons learnt. With Bruce Morton, Neil Warhurst, Jenny Lee and Ian Bustard. Director Steve Doherty. (1999-08-27) Vanishing Act (Jenny McDade) Thank you for being my daughter for 14 years - sorry. With Robert Daws, Gemima Rooper and Richard Pearce. Director Celia de Wolff (1999-08-30) The Story Of The Amulet (E Nesbit, dram Malcolm McKee) In a quest to achieve their hearts' desire, Anthea, Cyril, Robert and Jane travel through history to discover the whereabouts of an ancient and magical amulet. With Clive Francis, Simon Carter and James Richard. Director Rosemary Watts. (1999-08-31) Petrella - 4: Outpacing The Fiend (Michael Gilbert, dram Michael Butt) Petrella's Achilles heel is exploited by some merciless killers. With Nicky Henson, Jamie Glover and Mamta Kash. Director John Taylor. (1999-09-01) The Complete Adventures Of Claudine - 1: Claudine At School (Colette, adap John Peacock) Four complete plays based on the novels of Colette, and starring Claire Skinner as Claudine. In her last year at school, Claudine is seduced by the temptation of love. With Jill Balcon, Paloma Baeza and Sally Baxter. Director Celia de Wolff. (1999-09-02; Rpt) The Young Ambassadors (Angela Pelham, dram Jennifer Curry) Angela is one of a group of British children evacuated to America during the Second World War. Her letters home are a constant source of tears and laughter for her family. With Mary Nighy, Diana Quick, Selina Cadell and Mary Wimbush. Directed by Cherry Cookson. (1999-09-03) Skeggy (Chris Thompson) A play following the progress of three couples in the holiday resort of Skegness, each with their own reasons for returning to the scene of their happiest holiday. With Norman Bird, Susan Brooke and Alison Carney. Director Peter Leslie Wild. (1999-09-06) The Woman Destroyed (Simone de Beauvoir, adap Diana Quick) Starring Diana Quick. Like legions of women before and after, Monica believes she has a happy marriage, until she discovers by chance that her husband is having an affair. With Alex Jennings and Juliet Prew. Director Sara Davies. (1999-09-07; Rpt) Verona - Conspiracy Of Parrots (Peter Tinniswood) Stephanie Cole stars as the slightly elderly lady whose exotic birds bring her triumphant fulfilment, in Tinniswood's monologue written especially for her. (1999-09-08) The Complete Adventures Of Claudine - 2: Claudine In Paris (Colette, adap John Peacock) Claudine explores the city and its vices, and is as tempted by them as she is by her uncle. With John Hartley, Nicholas Farrell and Scott Handy. Director Celia de Wolff. (1999-09-09) Fly By Night (Louise Oliver) Starring Pam Ferris. For her 50th birthday, Eva Sparrow chooses 50 days of solitude which she takes perched high in her tree house at the bottom of her garden. With her sons away, she sits in her wing-backed armchair, looking back over her life. (1999-09-10; Rpt) I Can't Be Ill, I'm A Hypochondriac (Paul Mendelson) Testicular cancer strikes advertising copywriter Philip Martindale when he can least afford it. So how does Nancy cope when her hypochondriac husband really is ill? With Ray Brooks, Carolyn Pickles and Deborah Berlin. Director David Ian Neville. (1999-09-13) Pursuit (Glyn Hughes) The finals days of British artist J M W Turner. Having consigned his mother to the madhouse and abandoned his mistress and children, 75-year-old Turner is paid an unexpected visit by his long-lost daughter Evelina Dupuis. She forces him to face the ghosts of his past and he comes to an understanding of the importance of love as well as art. With Peter Jeffrey, Janet Dale and Marian Kemmer. Director Peter Leslie Wild. (1999-09-14; Rpt) Roberto Sultana (Katie Hims) Nine-year-old Shelly writes to her hero Roberto Sultana who is away looking for a man with a limp. Her mother will not eat, talk or get out of bed. Shelly needs some help. With Sarah Tingle, Christopher Horner and Liz Smith. Director Melanie Harris. (1999-09-15) The Complete Adventures Of Claudine - 3: Claudine Marrie (Colette, adap John Peacock) Claudine's infidelity turns out to be more painful than she could have imagined. With Nicholas Farrell, Julia Ford and Scott Handy. Director Celia de Wolff. (1999-09-16) Dear Gerald (Gerald Meadows, dram Alyson Hallett) A drama-documentary based on the letters sent by a 12-year-old English boy to his parents in England while he was evacuated to South Africa for the duration of the Second World War. The letters, lost for 60 years, uninhibitedly describe a boy growing up in wartime South Africa. With Jack Shute and Elaine Claxton, and Gerald Meadows himself. Director Pete Atkin. (1999-09-17) Rites Of Passage (Nick Burbridge) Jonathan needs surgery. His father wants him to take it like a man. What kind of initiation awaits him on the ward, with three strangers, and their potent world of secrets, memories and dreams? With Gerard Horan, Robert Glennister and Nick Robinson. Director Celia de Wolff. (1999-09-20) Poor Clare (Carol McGuigan) McGuigan's poignant 20th-century tale of hope, imagination and spirituality from a child's viewpoint. What do you do when you are eight years old, your Mam has not got tuppence to her name, a man in the flat above has jumped out of the window in despair and you are being bullied at school? Become a nun, of course. With Kayleigh McMahon, Jo-Anne Horan and Janine Birkett. Director Polly Thomas. (1999-09-21) Altaban The Magnificent (Sebastian Baczkiewicz) A young British scientist discovers myth and magic in the looking-glass world of postwar Berlin. With Charles Barnecut and Stuart Milligan. Director Claire Grove. (1999-09-22) The Complete Adventures Of Claudine - 4: Claudine & Annie (Colette, adap John Peacock) Claudine wants to help Annie, but begins to wonder whether she can only help herself. With Poppy Miller, Clare Holman, Philip Voss and Nicholas Farrell. Director Celia de Wolff. (1999-09-23) The Dreaming Woman (Don Taylor) When David, a young schoolteacher, is asked to speak to Helen, who has suffered a personal tragedy, a story emerges which changes the relationship between them and becomes part of the development of a great English writer. With Ian Dunn, Kate Copeland and Abigail Thaw. Director Don Taylor. (1999-09-24) From The House At The Top Of The World - 1: Chinese Garden (Ray Jenkins) The first of three plays based on the diaries of Catherine, Lady McCartney, wife of the British Consul in Kashgar, in Chinese Turkestan, one of the loneliest places on earth. In 1895, Sven Hedin, the Swedish explorer, was one of her first visitors, intent on mapping the dangerous Taklimakan Desert. With Siobhan Redmond and Alex Jennings. Director Janet Whitaker. (1999-09-27) Love Among The Haystacks (D H Lawrence, dram Nick McCarty) Philip Jackson, as D H Lawrence, narrates the story of two young farm worker brothers, the heat of harvest time and the arrival of a young German governess in the vicarage next door. With Benedict Sandiford, Tony Bell and Sasha Pick. Director Hazel Castell. (1999-09-28; Rpt) The Hydro - 1 (Ronald Frame) A four-part story based on Frame's popular drama set in a luxury hotel in the Scottish Highlands. Fee Drummond, managing director of the Hydro, is coming to terms with her husband's return from the dead. And there is a very unusual reunion dinner. With Eliza Langland, Crawford Logan and Simon Tait. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-09-29) The Scan (Peter Tinniswood) A comic romance about a compulsive talker in search of reassurance and the nurse who protects him from the truth. With Roy Hudd and Judy Cornwell. Director Enyd Williams. (1999-09-30; Rpt) The Maids Of Orleans (Beatrice Colin) Colin's play is set in France in the dark days of 1940. As the Germans advance from Paris, three women - an heiress, a journalist and a poet - escape to a chateau in the Loire Valley. They have sworn to counter bullets with words, and violence with feminism, but like latter-day Joans of Arc, they discover that idealism has a price. With Eliza Langland and Kathryn Howden. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-10-01) From The House At The Top Of The World - 2: The Forger (Ray Jenkins) 1900. The brilliant archaeologist Auriel Stein comes to stay, in search of lost cities on the Silk Road, and to uncover a clever forgery. With Siobhan Redmond and Alex Jennings. Director Janet Whitaker. (1999-10-04) The Fox (D H Lawrence, dram Nick McCarty) Philip Jackson, as D H Lawrence, narrates the story of two young girls who try to run a small holding until a young soldier, Henry, arrives and one of the girls is as attracted to him as she is by the animal magnetism of the fox who wrecks their hen house. With John Light, Lucy Whybrow, Alice Arnold and Paul Gregory. Director Janet Whitaker. (1999-10-05; Rpt) The Hydro - 2 (Ronald Frame) A famous television soap opera star plans a secret revenge in the dining room, and a businesswomen's conference leaves one accompanying husband with far too much time on his hands. With Eliza Langland, Crawford Logan and Una McLean. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-10-06; Rpt) The Strange Affair Of The Brown Dog (Peter Mason, dram Tony Coult) A true animal rights story from Edwardian Britain. In 1903, a dog was cruelly experimented on at University College, London. Thanks to a medical student, this gave a kick-start to Britain's animal rights movement. With Maggie Steed, Nerys Hughes and Mark Straker. Director Turan Ali. (1999-10-07) Bent's Business - Talk's Cheap (Peter R Simpkin) The glamour, and particularly the corruption, of the international art trade is Anthony Bent's business. In the first of two adventures, the theft of a Constable painting from a London gallery leads to death, and to Spain. With James Faulkner, Amy Shindler and Brian Croucher. Director Ned Chaillet. (1999-10-08) From The House At The Top Of The World - 3: Stolen (Ray Jenkins) Von le Coq, a German archaeologist, gets involved in a race with Aurel Stein to steal treasures from the Buddhist monasteries and ancient lost oasis towns along the Silk Road. With Siobhan Redmond and Alex Jennings. Director Janet Whitaker. (1999-10-11) The Ladybird (D H Lawrence, dram Nick McCarty) Philip Jackson, as Lawrence, narrates the story of a strange mesmeric love affair between an enemy officer in a prison hospital and Lady Daphne who visits him, initially out of duty. With Emma Fielding, Steven Hodson and Christopher Bowen. Director Janet Whitaker. Last in series (1999-10-12; Rpt) The Hydro - 3 (Ronald Frame) Fee runs into trouble as a rival hotel steals her staff. Meanwhile, four old friends have a surprising reunion on the tennis court, and in the Palm Court an artist's widow tries to avoid the probing lens of a television documentary team. With Eliza Langland, Crawford Logan and Edith Macarthur. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-10-13) In Convenience (Julie Balloo & Jenny Eclair) Kaye never wanted the dinner party - not on today of all days. But then she could not expect Philip to remember the date. Performed by Jenny Eclair. Director Sally Avens. (1999-10-14) Bent's Business - An Old Flame (Peter R Simpkin) The glamour, and particularly the corruption, of the international art trade is Anthony Bent's business. In the second of two adventures, the murky underworld of international art theft threatens those nearest to him, and his own reputation. With James Faulkner and Amy Shindler. Director Ned Chaillet. (1999-10-15; Rpt) A Tous Ceux Qui (Noelle Renaude, trans/adap by Sara Coward) On a hot afternoon in mid-France in the late 1940s, six interrelated families are gathered in the garden for a celebration meal. With Geoffrey Whitehead, Elizabeth Proud and David Timson. Director Sue Wilson. (1999-10-18; Rpt) Passnotes On Romeo & Juliet (Jane Buckler) When Rom falls in love with Julie, he discovers that real life is different from Shakespeare. With Robert Harper, Siriol Jenkins, Karin Diamond and Rhys Miles Thomas. Director Alison Hindell. (1999-10-19; Rpt) The Hydro - 4 (Ronald Frame) Crisis looms for Fee as Colin leaves to run a rival hotel, and David takes a strong interest in another woman. Meanwhile, a disappointed wife dreams of her teenage dancing days, and a divorced father tries to get his son back. With Eliza Langland and Crawford Logan. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-10-20) For I Have Sinned (Wally K Daly) Bernard Cribbins plays an elderly priest haunted by the memory of one particular confession which forced him to confront his own faith and beliefs. Director: Martin Jenkins. (1999-10-21) Mrs Parker (Naylah Ahmed) The first of four plays from `Chasing the Rainbow', an initiative by BBC Radio Drama in Birmingham to find new writers from the black and Asian communities. This is the story of an elderly Indian woman who strikes up an unexpected friendship with a young student. Memories of her youth in India come flooding back as she tries to come to terms with life in modern Birmingham. With Indira Joshi and Norman Bird. Director: Peter Leslie Wild. (1999-10-22) The Errant Gene (Rukhsana Ahmad) A geneticist who is developing a new drug is haunted by a ghost from her past. With Parminder Nagra, Paul Bhattacharjee, Tessa Worsley and David Allister. Director: Claire Grove. (1999-10-25; Rpt) Hearts & Bones (Annie McCartney) A mother faces a major dilemma when tests for a much-needed bone-marrow transplant reveal that her husband may not be the father of her child. With Amanda Root, Kenneth Cranham and Ellie Beaven. Director Eoin O'Callaghan. (1999-10-26) The Hydro - S2 - 1 (Ronald Frame) A four-part drama set in a luxury hotel in the Scottish Highlands. Fee Drummond, the Hydro's managing director, is finding it increasingly difficult to mix family and work. Meanwhile, a silver wedding dance gets off on the wrong foot and there is skulduggery on the tennis courts. With Eliza Langland and Crawford Logan. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-10-27) My Last Week With Modolia (wri/perf Ben Moor) A unique and magical love story set in a world where nothing is quite what it seems. (1999-10-28) God The Son (Angela McNab) The second of four plays from `Chasing the Rainbow', a BBC Radio Drama initiative in the Midlands to find new writers from the black and Asian communities. What happens when a black teenager decides he wants to become a Catholic priest? Edwin Delahaye is surprised by the reaction of friends and family. With Joseph Jones, Frank Grimes and Angela Wynter. Director Peter Leslie Wild. (1999-10-29) Paupers & Pig Killers - 1: Don't Look Down Your Nose At Me, Sir (Eric Pringle) `The Diaries of William Holland', dramatised in three parts, with Ronald Pickup as William Holland and Rowena Cooper as Mary. An account of life in a Somerset parsonage in the early 19th century. The parson once again has to deal with unruly parishioners, lazy farmers and his manservant Robert. With Gavin Muir and Gordon Gostelow. Director Cherry Cookson. (1999-11-01) White Horse Hill (wri/dir Sally Pomme Clayton) Myth and archaeology meet in the living landscape of Uffington White Horse. A grandfather tells a story to his granddaughter which is echoed by the voices of the hill. With Christopher Saul and Lyria Eastley. (1999-11-02) The Hydro - S2 - 2 (Ronald Frame) An old flame comes back into Fee's life with awkward consequences. Meanwhile, a taxi driver and his wife reluctantly celebrate his retirement, and Willie the doorman becomes a media star. With Eliza Langland and Crawford Logan. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-11-03) My Pregnancy Test (wri/perf Alex Lowe) Impending fatherhood looms for Dan, but will he ever be ready in time? (1999-11-04) There Comes A Karma (Vayu Naidu) The third of four plays from Chasing the Rainbow, a BBC Radio Drama initiative in the Midlands to find new writers from the black and Asian communities. Chanda is visiting relatives in England when her husband's body is found in their apartment in Montana. What happened to make her run away? Was murder inevitable? With Shaheen Khan and Lyndam Gregory. Director: Vanessa Whitburn. (1999-11-05) Paupers & Pig Killers - 2: Travel Broadens The Seat (Eric Pringle) William goes on a social visit to Bath with his family. The hectic lifestyle has him longing for the relative peace and quiet of Overstowey. Ronald Pickup as William Holland and Rowena Cooper as Mary. With Gavin Muir and Gordon Gostelow. Director Cherry Cookson. (1999-11-08) Orchestra Paloma (wri/dir Paul Dodgson) A drama about a tormented commuter who is enduring the daily ritual of the underground when he hears a former girlfriend playing a Bach cello suite. His obsession is such that within days he has walked away from his life and followed her to Barcelona. With Douglas Hodge and Lisa Coleman. (1999-11-09) The Hydro - S2 - 3 (Ronald Frame) Events take a dramatic turn at the Skein Palace, the Hydro's rival hotel. Meanwhile, a famous novelist picks up her pen to settle an old score. and a respectable widow drops a bombshell. With Eliza Langland and Crawford Logan. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-11-10) The Clock Of Heaven (Michelene Wandor) The story of unknown Yorkshire carpenter John Harrison, who in 1714 responded to Parliament's offer of a huge prize for anyone who could find a way of measuring longitude at sea. With Nicky Henson, Barbara Flynn and Siobhan Redmond. Director: Chris Wallis. (1999-11-11) Island Whispers (Christine Belle) The last of four plays by new black and Asian writers from the Midlands region. Jennifer's life in Nottingham revolves around work and not much else. Isaiah has just arrived from Jamaica looking for his long lost father. When the pair meet and fall in love, everything seems perfect. However, the past has an unexpected way of catching up with them both. With Lorna Brown and Michael Buffong. Director: Felix Cross. (1999-11-12) Paupers & Pig Killers - 3: The Year Of The Cuckoo (Eric Pringle) Life is transformed at Overstowey Parsonage when Robert resolves to give up the booze and the girls. But will it last? Ronald Pickup as William Holland and Rowena Cooper as Mary. With Gavin Muir and Gordon Gostelow. Director: Cherry Cookson. (1999-11-15) The Cloud Chamber (Mike Walker) The laws of physics demand that for every action there should be a reaction. Does this apply to relationships? And what if the act of betrayal never actually happens? Are the effects still so far-reaching? with Rory Edwards, Julie Cox and Sylvestra le Touzel. Director: Jeremy Mortimer. (1999-11-16) The Hydro - S2 - 4 (Ronald Frame) Fee and David's relationship is at a crossroads. Meanwhile, an elderly gentleman stages an unusual political protest, and a children's entertainer hits the gin. With Eliza Langland and Crawford Logan. Director Patrick Rayner. (1999-11-17) Henry Irving & The Bells - Written by and starring Corin Redgrave as Henry Irving. Narrated by T P McKenna. A drama about the evening of 25 November 1871 and why it proved to be a turning point in the history of British theatre. With Neil Salvage, Denys Hawthorne and Peter Stockbridge. Director: Keith Slade. (1999-11-18) Dead Meat (Sean Hughes & Owen O'Neill) After the death of their mother, Boru summons his brother Wolfe back to Ireland for the funeral. They learn that they share a passion for their Aunty Eileen. With Sean Hughes, Owen O'Neill, Dillie Keane and Fiona Clarke. Director: Peter Kavanagh. (1999-11-19; Rpt) The Final Furlong (Christopher Reason) Starring Bernard Cribbins. Can a heartbroken old man rescue a desperate situation? Directed by Martin Jenkins. (1999-11-22) Standing On Tiptoes (Rebecca Saire) In the highly charged world of dance, a parent tries to fulfil her unrealised dreams. With Rebecca Saire and Anna Massey. Director: Eoin O'Callaghan. (1999-11-23) A Matter Of Interpretation (Peter Morgan) Ivo, a UN interpreter in the Bosnian War, waits in the Hague to give evidence against a fellow Croatian accused of war crimes. But what is the whole truth? With Davor Golub, Christine Pritchard and Denica Fairman. Director: Alison Hindell. (1999-11-24) Vanilla (Lesley Bruce) A comic fable about food and love stars Derek Jacobi. Wyndham's first love was his mother. As he fed at her breast, he was set on a path to obsession. With Adjoa Andoh, Gavin Muir, Alison Pettitt and Ben Crowe. Director Claire Grove. (1999-11-25) Table For Two (Jeremy Front) With Henry Goodman and Suzanne Bertish. For Joe and Ruthie, a cafe table in Venice is full of memories. With Ben Crowe and Sophie Winkleman. Director: Sally Avens. (1999-11-26) So Beats My Heart (Nandita Ghose) A surreal love story. Heart transplants take on a new dimension in this tale of Michael, who discovers his heart and his life. With John Bowe and Indira Varma. Director: Janet Whitaker. (1999-11-29) Germs Apart (Vanessa Rosenthal) The moving story of female bonding across the generation gap. Three women from different backgrounds are thrown together in hospital. Initially sparks fly, but as they open up, a real affection develops. An illicit trip across the road to watch `Emmerdale' cements this friendship - and has an unusual outcome. With Maggie Tagney, Brigit Forsyth and Gillian Kearney. Director: Polly Thomas. (1999-11-30) 1,000 Years Of Spoken English - 1 - A double bill. In Know What I Mean? (John Mortimer) Patricia Hodge and Michael Kitchen star in the story of a marriage between a barrister and a management consultant which is threatened by a caller. In The Verger Queen (Neil Bartlett), starring Bette Bourne, a verger in a historic church is disturbed by a tour party which sparks memories of hundreds of years of the church and the coded world of a once secret sexual culture. (1999-12-01) Unwritten Law - S2 - 1: I've Only Just Learned To Cry (Rib Davis) Helena Kennedy QC presents a second series of four dramatised features about legal cases which led to a change in the law. The tragic story of Emma Humphries, who was tried at Nottingham Crown Court for the murder of her boyfriend in 1985. She never denied killing him but pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of provocation. With Gemma Saunders and Tracy Wiles.Director: Janet Whitaker. (1999-12-02; Rpt) Au Revoir Johnny Onions (Tracy Spottiswoode) Fifty years after she last heard from him, Elsie goes to Brittany in search of her sweetheart Johnny Onions. With Simon Armstrong, Jennifer Hill, Rachel Atkins, Oliver Ryan and Helen Griffin. Director: Alison Hindell. (1999-12-03) Henry & William (Mike Walker) Asapted from the correspondence of Henry and William James. Throughout their lives, often as not separated by the Atlantic, the brothers James - one, a great novelist, the other, a great philosopher - wrote almost daily, intimate letters to one another. With Bill Hootkins and Bob Sherman. Director: Tim Dee. (1999-12-06) Sisters By Chance (Carol Shields) Aimee and newly divorced Geri are attending a conference on synchronicity. Obliged to share the same table at a restaurant one evening, they find that they and their waiter Joshua have far more in common than they could have imagined. With Genevieve Bujold, Ann-Marie MacDonald and Paul Essiembre. Director: Damiano Pietropaolo. (1999-12-07) 1,000 Years Of Spoken English - 1: A Shout In The Distance (Maurice Leitch) A comedy of Irish manners is the last thing young Winston expects when he is uprooted from Northern Ireland and transplanted to London. But there is more than rhyming slang that he must learn to understand. With Andrew Scott,Sorcha Cusack and T P McKenna. Director: Ned Chaillet. (1999-12-08) Unwritten Law - S2 - 2: Only A Phase (Rib Davis) In 1975 in Belfast, a group of young men met in a bar. They decided to appeal to the British Government for gay rights in Northern Ireland to bring them in line with England and Wales. It took six years. With Stephen Hogan and Robert Patterson. Director Janet Whitaker. Written by Rib Davis. Director: Janet (1999-12-09) A Distinctive Child (Lavinia Murray) Born with a severe squint, 14-year-old Rachel is clumsy, poorly sighted, intelligent and different. She wants the world to know who she is. With Laura Rogowski, Ebuwa Uwubamwen and Victoria Connett. Director: Melanie Harris. (1999-12-10) Poisoned By A Tree (Annie Caulfield) Sarah frets in hospital over a minor operation. A bittersweet comedy about healing a divided family. With Margaret D'arcy and Alison Pettit. Director: Claire Grove. (1999-12-13) Wind Of Change (Helen Brandom) Starring Alison Steadman as Kathleen Fox. For Kathleen, dinner with her husband's managing director and his wife is a chore in itself, but when fawning office secretary Lavinia is invited along as well, Kathleen begins to lose her reason. Something has got to change. Director: Eoin O'Callaghan. (1999-12-14) 1,000 Years Of Spoken English - 3: Alphabox (Jeff Noon, dram Mike Walker) Opening an alphabox sends Donna on a string of twilight adventures in the cyber zone. A century of word play, from Joyce's Liffey to Jeff Noon's intoxicated Manchester. With Conrad Nelson, Gemma Saunders and Beth Chalmers. Director: Ned Chaillet. (1999-12-15) Unwritten Law - S2 - 3: Breaking The Chain (Rib Davis) A young Jehovah's Witness dies after being stabbed and refusing a blood transfusion. Is this murder, or was the fault partly hers? With Julian Wadham, Elizabeth Bell and Gemma Saunders. Director: Peter Kavanagh. Written by Rib Davis. Director: Janet Whitaker. (1999-12-16; Rpt) In Singapore (Unk) Sally, now in her fifties, remembers her childhood in Singapore in 1958. With Jane Lapotaire, Kelly Hunter, John Rowe and Charles Simpson. Music composed and performed by Malcolm McKee. Director: Vanessa Whitburn. (1999-12-17) Save The Last Dance For Me (Bill Morrison) The true story about the song-writing collaboration between polio victim Doc Pomus and his much younger partner Mort Shuman. New York in the 50s. Doc and Mart team up when a new phenomenon changes popular music for ever - the teenager. The pair go on to write extensively for Elvis, Dion and The Belmonts, and The Drifters. With Lou Hirsh and Kerry Shale. Director: Pauline Harris. (1999-12-20) Nobody (Daniel Brocklehurst) Paul Hague arrives home on Christmas Eve to find other people living in his house. He is arrested after a fight breaks out. The police can find no evidence of his existence... With John McArdle, Cathy Tyson and James Quinn. Director: Melanie Harris. (1999-12-21; Rpt) On The Whole It's Been Jolly Good (Peter Tinniswood) A monologue written to celebrate the diamond jubilee in broadcasting of Maurice Denham, who stars as Sir Plympton Makepeace. (1999-12-22) Unwritten Law - S2 - 4: On Self Deliverance (Rib Davis) In the 1970s, Exit published a booklet offering practical help to those wishing to commit suicide - technically a prisonable offence. How did the courts respond? With Tim Treloar, Gavin Muir and Iwan Thomas. Director: Peter Kavanagh. Written by Rib Davis. Director: Janet Whitaker. (1999-12-23 to 24) Danny The Champion Of The World (Roald Dahl, dram Brian Sibley) Starring Nick Robinson as Danny and Jack Dee as William. With Hywel Bennett, Bill Treacher, Andrew Sachs and Crawford Logan. Director: John Taylor. 1: A Deep, Dark Secret - Danny thinks William Champion is the best father a boy ever had, but William is about to make some shocking disclosures. 2: The Fantastic, Marvellous Idea - Danny comes up with the perfect plan to put paid to Mr Victor Hazell. (1999-12-27) The Deep End (Pete Lawson) A magical underwater world awaits Leni - if her cry from the depths of the public swimming baths can be heard. With Michelle Holmes, Patrick Nielsen and Stephen Hogan. Director: Ned Chaillet. (1999-12-28) The Mermaid's Tail (Lucy Gough) The myth of the mermaid is explored through the mind of an adolescent girl. The drama is woven together by an interview with Marina Warner, a distinguished writer on myths and fairy tales. With Alison Pettitt, Sunny Ormonde and Tom George. Director: Peter Leslie Wild. (1999-12-29) If Music Be The Food Of Love, Mine's A Jam Butty (Lesley Whiteley & Julie Wilkinson) Beth, a young woman who has spend her life bailing out her drunken father, finds hope at a Singing for the Tone Deaf class. With Sunetra Sarker, Russell Dixon and Kevin Knapman. Directed by Pauline Harris. (1999-12-30) The Boy's Own Book Of The Dead (Graham White) In the 1970s two friends buried a time capsule to be opened at the millennium. But unearthing it reopens a dark past best left unburied. With David Bamber, Kim Wall and Suzanna Hamilton. Director: Peter Kavanagh. (1999-12-31) Ringing The Changes (Don Paterson & Jo Shapcott) Twenty tiny plays about life today and life as it might be tomorrow, performed by four actors - Mel Giedroyc, Tony Gardner, Rupert Degas and Rachel Preece. Music by Wilfredo Acosta. (NB: Not billed as an Afternoon Play, but in the usual slot.) THE FRIDAY PLAY9:00pm Fridays (1999-01-01; Rpt) Where Three Roads Meet (wri/dir Don Taylor) w/Michael N Harbour, Karen Archer, Peter Jeffrey, Robin Sebastian, Frances Jeater - Peter has a problem, a personal crisis which he has not shared with anyone. But he is a Church of England vicar, and the time has come for him to share his problem with his Bishop and with his wife. (1999-01-08) The Year Of The Tiger (Tina Pepler, dir Marion Mancarrow) w/Emily Joyce, Paul Bazely and Nitin Chandra Ganatra - When Joe is given an unusual assignment in Bangladesh, little does he realise that he will be bewitched both by real tigers and by the turbulence of this the Chinese Year of the Tiger. (1999-01-15) Life's A Sport (Mick Martin, dir Pauline Harris) w/Ralph Ineson and Andy Cryer - Gerard Clarke, rugby player and one of the finest ever forwards, is on the brink of international stardom. After a medical in preparation for the British tour of Australia, he discovers that he has contracted HIV. With his existence under threat, will he stop at nothing to protect his dream? (1999-01-22) 625Y (Wally K Daly, dir Gordon House) w/Amanda Root, Geoffrey Whitehead and John Strickland - Daly's new play intriguingly imagines what would happen if a research scientist discovered a gene that could determine a man or a woman's natural lifespan. (1999-01-29) Jupiter (Stephen James, dir Gordon House) w/Peter Jeffrey, Barbara Dryhurst and Christopher Brand - George is well aware that an old man is not a suitable companion for a young woman. But old men can still dream. (1999-02-05) Emergency (Robin Glendinning, dir Roland Jaquarello) w/Patrick O'Kane, Stella McCusker and Alan Barry - During the Second World War, or `the emergency', as the Irish call it, a German captain lands in Ireland and has many comic and bizarre adventures trying to recruit the help of the IRA to invade Britain. (1999-02-12) One Young Man (wri/dir Jeremy Weller) w/Phyllis McLeod and Dawn McCormack - A semi-improvised drama based on the true story of Phyllis McLeod's struggle to discover the circumstances surrounding her son's death while he was on remand in Saughton Prison in September 1993. Performed by members of the family and a company of actors. Introduced by Edi Stark, who, following the play, will chair a discussion of the issues raised. (1999-02-19) Glass (Lesley Bruce, dir Claire Grove) w/Adam Godley, Nicholas Farrell, Jon Strickland and Tracey Wiles - In 1761, Benjamin Franklin invented the glass harmonica. This peculiar instrument linked the lives of three famous men. (1999-02-26) Cribb & The Black (Steve Walker, dir Gordon House) w/Shaun Parkes, Pat Roach and Burt Caesar - The story of the greatest bare-knuckle boxing match of the 19th century and of its protagonists - Tom Cribb, champion of England, and Tom Molineaux, a slave who wins his freedom with his fists and sets about conquering the world. (1999-03-05) Waiting (Steve May, dir Jeremy Mortimer) w/Lindsey Coulson, Kelly Wright and Harry Myers - It is 9pm on the first Friday in March. Tessa is waiting for her 14-year-old daughter to come home. Tanya, it appears, is not planning on accepting the terms of her nine o'clock curfew. (1999-03-12) Fisher Of Men (David Constantine, dir David Hunter) w/John Ogwen and Ioan Meredith - Told partly in verse, this is the story of the terrible wreck of the Royal Charter on the rocks of Anglesey in 1859, and the devastating effect this has on the isolated community of Moelfre and its vicar, the Rev Roose Hughes. (1999-03-19) Ain't It Grand To Be Bloomin' Well Dead (John Clifford, inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca, dir Gaynor Macfarlane) w/Graham Turner, Tom McGovern, Liam Brennan and James Bryce - Leslie examines his relationship with his mother, his sexuality and his death. (1999-03-26) Fish Ain't Bitin' (Nigel Moffat, dir Tanya Nash) w/Robbie Gee, Mona Hammond and Colin Salmon - All Johnny Toobad wants to do is play his blues guitar. Can his music help him when he is accused of murdering his girlfriend's brother? (1999-04-02; Rpt) Missing The Melody (Karen Hope, dir Cathryn Horn) w/Emma Fielding and Richard Hope - An examination of sound told from the perspective of a woman who is profoundly deaf. Lucy, a gifted violinist, became deaf in her early teens. Now, 15 years later, she awaits the result of an operation which will restore her hearing. But will her memories and expectations match reality? (1999-04-09; Rpt) Do The Needful (Mahesh Dattani, dir Sally Avens) w/Paul Bhattacharjee, Indira Varma, Bahser Patel and Jamila Massey - When two families meet to discuss a possible marriage between their respective children, there is a clash of cultures. (1999-04-16) Cocaine (Max Hillman, dir Kristine Landon-Smith) w/Rhys Ifans, Robert Pugh and Mark Lewis Jones - A poignant and heart-rending drama about a young man, Rhys, and his father Donald, who move to London from Wrexham after the death of Rhys's mother. Donald cannot lift himself out of the depression caused by the death. In desperation at seeing his father so low, Rhys offers him some cocaine. (1999-04-23; Rpt) Hafod - Visions Of Eden (Tracy Spottiswoode, dir Alison Hindell) w/Anthony O'Donnell, Sioned Mair and Eiry Thomas - Hafod was built by a millionaire visionary who hoped to create an Eden in the wilderness of 18th-century Wales. But in every paradise there is a serpent. (1999-04-30; Rpt) Learning The Language (Harwant Bains, dir Jonquil Panting) w/Gregor Truter and Stuart Milligan - A romantic comedy about the perils of speaking from the heart. Dave has followed the girl he loves to her native Spain. But how can he be the man of her dreams when he cannot even speak her language? (1999-05-07) Her Father's Daughter (Winsome Pinnock, dir Frances-Anne Solomon) w/Colin Salmon and Adjoa Andoh - Monica is 12 when her dad wins custody and introduces her to the techniques of conning. Using her innocence as a charm to con victims, he draws her into a double act which slides from simple shoplifting to elaborate heists at the expense of friends, relatives, even lovers, where the currency is human faith and emotion. (1999-05-14) The Perfect Woman (Michael Butt, dir Penny Gold, mus David Chilton) w/Michael Kitchen, Helen McCrory and David Cardy - Jack and Mike are each obsessed with their `perfect woman', but does such a creature exist? The two men go on a difficult journey to discover the truth. (1999-05-21; Rpt) The House Swap (Peter Tinniswood, dir Gordon House) w/Penelope Wilton and William Hootkins - Sid Fiedelman, a hard-drinking, award-winning American cartoonist is sent by his editor to cast a satirical eye on Britain at the end of the millennium. But Sid and his world-weary wife, Alma, are quite unprepared for what the small English village of Winterleaf Gunner has to offer. (1999-05-28; Rpt) The John Buchan Weekend (Robin Brooks, dir Clive Brill) w/Alan Cox and Emily Woof - When Richard Hannay signs up for a murder-mystery weekend based on the `Thirty-Nine Steps', he does not expect the drama to begin on his own doorstep. (1999-06-04) Tiananmen Square (Paul Godfrey) Ten years ago this month, thousands of students gathered in Tiananmen Square demanding change. In this drama, citizens of Beijing add their support as the students stage a hunger strike. Unless the students agree to evacuate the square, the military will be drafted in. On June 4 1989, time runs out for the students. With David K S Tse and Jennifer Lim. Director Jeremy Mortimer. (1999-06-11) The Old Man & The Sea (Ernest Hemingway, dram Bob Sherman) Academy Award-winning actor Rod Steiger stars in a new dramatisation of the book which led to Hemingway's Nobel Prize for Literature. An old fisherman's epic struggle for one last great fish is a classic fable of the 20th century. With Ramon Estevez and David Allister. Director Ned Chaillet. McLeod and Dawn McCormack. Written and directed by Jeremy Weller. (1999-06-18) Dylan Thomas - Return Journey (Bob Kingdom) The writer stars in his critically acclaimed play - a lyrical and funny biographical portrayal of the hell-raiser, lover and poet Dylan Thomas - using Thomas's writing and poems. Recorded live at this year's Brighton Festival. (1999-06-25; Rpt) City Of The Mind (Penelope Lively, dram Peter Wolf) Present and past collide evocatively in this atmospheric story of a successful architect who, as he travels around the city, tries to come to terms with past failures. A chance meeting provides the means for his recovery. With David Troughton, Christopher Wright and Sarah Jane Holm. Director Cherry Cookson. (1999-07-02; Rpt) The Jericho Players - Rogues & Vagabonds (Bernard Kops) 1881. A group of Russian actors fleeing the pogroms arrives in London. The East End will not know what hit it! With Timothy West, Amanda Root and Mark Bonnar. Director Peter Kavanagh. (1999-07-09) Hearing Sense (Richard Monks) Michael is a sound recordist. He has a collection far more extensive than any effects library, but something in his past weighs increasingly heavy - he warns us not to believe all that we hear. With Ioan Meredith, Gavin Muir, Rachel Atkins, Tessa Worsley, David Allister, Stephen Critchlow, James Butcher, Yasmin Hickson and Lily Howkins. Director David Hunter. (1999-07-16; Rpt) Fireworks (Shaun McCarthy) London, 1749. At the premiere of Handel's `Music for the Royal Fireworks' all is not well backstage. The designer of the spectacle and the comptroller of the squibs face ruin as their edifice smoulders and crumbles - and behaviour in the wings indicates that the foundations of wider society are no sturdier. With Jon Glover and Christopher Benjamin. Director Neil Cargill. (1999-07-23) Woe Alas, The Fatal Cash Box! (John Arden) Julius Applewick has no intention of taking part in a trial for a new drug, but in hospital, recovering from a heart attack, he has a number of visitors, some real, some imaginary, who take him on a journey back to his school days. With Bernard Hepton, Richard Burke and Stephen Critchlow. Director Jeremy Mortimer. (1999-07-30; Rpt) Flight To Arras (Antoine de Saint-Exupery, trans/dram Rod Wooden) In this classic story of a single, essentially suicidal reconnaissance flight over German-occupied France, Saint-Exupery rises above the clouds, the cold and the bullets. With David Threlfall, Peter Kenny and Robert Harper. Director David Hunter. (1999-08-06; Rpt) I Bought Juan & Evita Peron's Custom Ferrari (David Zane Mairowitz) Every little man dreams of owning the ultimate sports car. But when a clerk buys the Ferrari which once belonged to Juan and Evita Peron, he does not expect to hear Latin American news on the radio, or a strangely familiar voice whispering from the back of the car. With James Fleet and Edna Dore. Director Peter Kavanagh. (1999-08-13; Rpt) The Shadow Of Mir (Nick Fisher) As Space Station Mir hums and whirrs 130 miles above our heads, one of the most bizarre incidents in space history is about to occur - Valentina Savitskaya, a middle-aged Russian bureaucrat, is sent into space to check the viability of Mir's future. As her real motive for coming to Mir is gradually revealed, a tense power game is played out. With Etela Pardo. Director John Dryden. (1999-08-20) The Uncertainty Principle (Marcy Kahan) Set in 2099, this play explores the comic implications of a society where people know from birth - thanks to inevitable developments in genetic testing - the date of their death. Or at least they think they do. With Kerry Shale, Clive Swift and Mia Soteriou. Director Gordon House. (1999-08-27) Blitzma (David Pownall) Tommy Handley was the man who made the nation laugh during the darkest days of the Second World War, in his surreal wartime radio extravaganza `ITMA' (It's That Man Again). Handley's main target was Adolf Hitler, who could not understand why the British continued to defy him - until Goebbels explained that it is all down to `ITMA'. With Sam Kelly, Gerard Murphy and Stella Gonet. Director Martin Jenkins. (1999-09-03; Rpt) Sacco & Vanzetti (wri/dir Bill Bryden) Two Italian immigrants await execution in 1920s Massachusetts for a payroll robbery and murders they did not do. With Kevin McNally, Brian Cox and James Ellis. (1999-09-10) Rafael Sanchez Recounts Once Upon A Time In The West (Eberhard Petschinka & Rafael Sanchez) An award-winning drama from the German-speaking countries translates into an engrossing adult fable of sexual jealousy, revenge and frontier justice, modelled on the greatest spaghetti western of all. With Douglas Hodge and Sean Barrett. Director Eberhard Petschinka. (1999-09-17) The Double Of E12 (Jeremy Front) A black comedy for the overstressed among us. What would happen if you walked into work one morning and found your double sitting at your desk? And not only would this person have your life - he would be making a success of it. With Douglas Hodge, Barbara Durkin and David Schneider. Director Sally Avens. (1999-09-24) Oh Sorry, Were You Asleep? (Jane Birkin) A singer finishes her concert and returns to her Paris home in the early hours of the morning. Playfully, she wakes up her partner to ask a seemingly frivolous question. What follows is a series of intense, funny, intermittent conversations; conversations we all know so well. With Corin Redgrave and Jane Birkin. Director Annie Castledine. (1999-10-01) The Big Smoke (John Fletcher & Stan Hey) A satirical look at a tobacco industry bid to persuade the British government to legalise marijuana. With Iestyn Jones, Nick Bailey and Don Warrington. Director Foz Allan. (1999-10-08; Rpt) 54 Per Cent Acrylic (David Harrower) A security guard working in a large department store is alerted to the fact that a woman has stolen a dress and is heading his way. With James Cosmo, Tracy Wiles and Matthew Zajac. Director Claire Grove. Harris. (1999-10-15) Biomass (Pat Cumper) The fragile economy of the tiny Caribbean island of St David's could be saved by an extraordinary discovery made by two environmentalists. But corruption is never far behind. With Eddie Nestor, Rakie Ayola and Oscar James. Director Marion Nancarrow. Harris. (1999-10-22) Take Two (Don Haworth) Having spent 40 days on Mount Sinai drawing up the the Ten Commandments with the Boss, Moses confesses that he dropped and smashed the tablets on the way down. He persuades the reluctant Boss to start all over again. However, setting down the law of the land for a second time is not as simple as it sounds. With Tom Baker and James Bolam. Director: Susan Roberts. (1999-10-29) On The Eve Of The Millennium (Barrie Keeffe) Warren Mitchell stars in a new drama by the author of `The Long Good Friday'. In a comic and touching performance, Mitchell evokes the rich humanity of a father determined to pass on a hidden heritage to his son - when his bouts with Alzheimer's disease permit. With Karl Johnson, Cathy Tyson and Ioan Meredith. Director Ned Chaillet. McLeod and Dawn McCormack. Written and directed by Jeremy Weller. (1999-11-05) Where A Wall Once Stood (Nick Fisher) When successful businessman James Arden goes missing, his distraught wife is determined to find him, despite a lack of clues. A darkly disturbing story of bluff and counter-bluff, set against the backdrop of a post-Communist Berlin. With Douglas Hodge and Britta Gartner. Director: Marion Nancarrow. (1999-11-12) Donkeys Led By Lions (Dave Sheasby) Derby schoolteacher Arthur Willis resolves to be a conscientious objector in the Great War but his decision has a devastating effect on his life and family. With Ian Dunn, Andrea Gascoigne and Joan Walker. Director: David Hunter. Harris. (1999-11-19) Bow Echo (Lisa Schlesinger) An elegiac new play, set on a farm in Iowa, by the winner of the 1997 BBC World Service Playwriting Competition. A father's love for his sick daughter forces him to make a choice between his conscience and the law. When his daughter's pain becomes insufferable and one last storm blows over his head, he is compelled to take action. With William Hope, Buffy Davis and Harper Marshall. Director: Andy Jordan. (1999-11-26) The Life Of The Bee (Maurice Maeterlinck, dram Graham Mort) A classic scientific text on the life cycle of the bee. Sexual conflicts, politics and eugenics all form undercurrents in this glimpse into the secret society of the hive, where survival dictates everything. With Philip Voss and Margaret Robertson. Director: David Hunter. (1999-12-03) Into Exile (Jan Hartman) Once a heart has been driven into exile and it becomes a fugitive heart, it may find its way home, but it will never find itself at total peace again. A disparate group of exiles fleeing from the war in their homeland find common humanity in their shared experiences of life on the road. With David Acton, Tony Bell, Alison Fiske, Alexandra Gilbreath and Louise Gold. Director Edward Hall. (1999-12-10) Dear Master (George Sand, adap Peter Eyre) Trans Barbara Bray & Francis Steegmuller... George Sand - the pen name of Aurore Dupin - was one of the most successful French writers of the 19th century, famous for her unconventional life. When she publicly defended the reclusive Flaubert's second novel, it was the start of an unlikely, but enduring friendship. With Irene Worth and Peter Eyre. Director: Pete Atkin. (1999-12-17) The Breath Of God (Hattie Naylor) Caroline, an English artist, is commissioned to make a series of sculptures based on the life of St Francis. Assisi is dominated by reconstruction work following the 1997 earthquake and Caroline finds that the city and the teachings of the saint lead her to confront painful memories. With Lia Williams, Sapphire Elia and Tilly Vosburgh. Director: Jeremy Mortimer. (1999-12-24) The Nativity (Bill Bryden) The Royal National Theatre production of `The Mysteries', based on the medieval plays of York, Wakefield and Chester, in a version by Tony Harrison and the Company. The play tells the story of the birth of Christ, attended by the shepherds and the three kings, and Herod's slaughter of the innocents. With Peter Armitage, Don Warrington, Cathryn Bradshaw, Joanna Page and William MacBain. Director: Bill Bryden. (1999-12-31) No programme. THE SATURDAY PLAY3:00pm Saturdays (1999-01-02) The Big Bazoohley (Peter Carey, dram Philip Hawthorn, dir Jeff Capel) w/Lynda Bellingham and Francis Magee - Young Sam Kellow is visiting Toronto with his parents when he becomes embroiled in a competition to choose the perfect kiddo. This is not Sam's idea of fun, but when he learns what the prize money is, he decides to win what, in his gambler dad's words, is the Big Bazoohley. (1999-01-09) Seven Circles Around The Fire (Mahesh Dattani, dir Jeremy Mortimer) w/Priyanga Elan and Rehan Sheikh - Uma Rao is the daughter-in-law of Bangalore's deputy commissioner of police. Her husband is a superintendent. When she starts research into the Hijra (eunuch) community for her university thesis, she unravels a thread of corruption that leads back to the cream of Bangalore society. (1999-01-16) Mystery Of The Yellow Room (Gaston Leroux, dram Stephen Sherridan, dir David Blount) w/Nicholas Boulton, Charles Simpson, Geoffrey Whitehead, Alastair Danson and Becky Hindley - The classic locked room mystery. The door was bolted and the windows barred, so how was Mlle Stangerson shot at, knocked unconscious, and left for dead? (1999-01-23) The Inheritance (Melissa Murray, dir Cherry Cookson) w/Kate Buffery, Stella Gonet, Roger Allam and Carolyn Pickles - Simone has been exiled from her family since her appearance in a TV programme revealing she is gay. Now she is seriously ill with leukaemia, and her only hope is a bone marrow transplant from a close relative. (1999-01-30) Justice Or Murder - The Death Of Charles I (Jack Emery, dir Martin Jenkins & Piers Plowright) w/Derek Jacobi, Timothy West, T P McKenna, Brian Glover and John Rowe, plus Margaret Drabble, Mark Kishlansky, Lesley Le Claire and John Morrill - The future of the monarchy, the abolition of the House of Lords and a truly democratic parliament all feature in the remarkable Putney Debates, which preceded the execution of the king on 30 January 1649. (1999-02-06) The House Swap (Peter Tinniswood, dir Gordon House) w/Penelope Wilton, Peter Vaughan and William Hootkins - Sid Fiedelman, a hard-drinking, award-winning American cartoonist, is sent by his editor to cast a satirical eye on Britain at the end of the millennium. But Sid and his world-weary wife Alma are quite unprepared for what the small English village of Winterleaf Gunner has to offer. (1999-02-13) And Counting (Polly Thomas, dir Cherry Cookson) w/Kathryn Hunt, Sarah Parks and Michael Begley - Sandra is a successful, happy career woman in her thirties whose dreams urge her to procreate. She does not even want a baby. A fast, funny look at the choices facing a woman who has it all. (1999-02-20) Lack Of Moral Fibre (John Antrobus, dir John Tydeman) w/Richard Briers, Brian Murphy, James Ellis and Frances Jeater - Comedy about two men who look after a pub on the moor in Cornwall in 1970. They are visited by a stranger and have memories of Flare Path Molly. (1999-02-27) The John Buchan Weekend (Robin Brooks, dir Clive Brill) w/Alan Cox, Emily Woof and Nigel Cooke - When Richard Hannay signs up for a murder-mystery weekend based on The Thirty-Nine Steps, he does not expect the drama to begin on his own doorstep. (1999-03-06; Rpt) Mr Harrison's Confession (Mrs Gaskell, dram Jeremy Front, dir Sally Avens) w/Marston Bloom, Geoffrey Whitehead, Alison Pettitt, Sophie Thompson and Jane Booker A young surgeon arriving at the village of Duncombe confronts a most perplexing illness. His female patients seem to require a singular remedy - marriage to the new doctor. (1999-03-13) Mrs Miniver - Cecil B De Mille's adaptation of William Wyler's 1942 drama of love, death and courage in the shadow of the Second World War, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon as Kay and Clem Miniver. This classic recording is a tribute to the contribution of British and American women to the Allied war effort. (1999-03-20; Rpt) The Burning Glass (Jo Anderson, dir Andy Jordan) w/Philip Madoc, Frances Jeater and Michael Culver - Breizh has a problem. The World Cup looms and all eyes are on France. Down on the estate, something stirs. (1999-03-27) Two Planks & A Passion (Anthony Minghella, dir Anthony Minghella & Bruce Hyman) w/David Battley, Chris Jury and Ken Jones - The tender and comic account of a provincial Easter six hundred years ago. The citizens of York are preparing to perform the `Mystery Cycle' for Richard II and his long-suffering queen, Anne of Bohemia. (1999-04-03) Flambards (K M Peyton, dram Diana Griffiths, dir Sally Avens) w/Ellie Beavan, Richard Pearce and Ben Crowe - Christina is sent to live with her fierce uncle and his two sons in their once grand home - a household divided by emotional undercurrents and cruelty. (1999-04-10) Blake's 7 - The Syndeton Experiment (Barry Letts, dir Brian Lighthill) w/Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Steven Pacey and Jacqueline Pearce - The race is on to get hold of Doctor Rossom's mind-manipulation experiment. If Servalan gets it before the crew, then control of the Federation is hers! (1999-04-17) Kiss & Kin (Angela Lambert, dram Jonathon Holloway) w/Unknown - Oliver is trapped in an unhappy marriage, and Harriet is recently widowed. Their lives are changed for ever when they fall in love during a week together in London. (1999-04-24) Castle Rackrent (Maria Edgeworth, dram Roger Danes, dir Penny Leicester) w/T P McKenna, Breffni McKenna and Sean Barrett - A late 18th-century satire on Anglo-Irish landlords. Is there nothing that these litigious, dissolute and often absent landlords can do that will shake the unquestioning regard of old Thady Quirk, the faithful family retainer? (1999-05-01) The Blue Flower (Penelope Fitzgerald, dram Peter Wolf, dir Cherry Cookson) w/Samuel West, Abigail Docherty, Alison Pettitt and John Rowe - In Germany in the late 18th century, a university student's quest to find his ideal vision of love leads him to a frail but spirited 12-year-old girl. Will she fulfil his high expectations? (1999-05-08) The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas, adap Toby Horton) w/Robert Montgomery and Josephine Hutchinson - From Cecil B DeMille's 1939 adaptation. It is 1815 and Edmond Dantes has been promoted to captain of the Pharaon and is engaged to the beautiful Mercedes de Rosas, when he is accused of aiding Napoleon. He is exiled to the island of Elba, in the Chateau d'If. With the aid of the mad priest Abbe Faria, he plans his revenge. (1999-05-15) Shakti (Vikram Chandra, dram Nandita Ghose, dir Chris Wallis) w/Paul Bhattacharjee, Sudha Bhuchar and Shaheen Khan - Two women vie for position in high society Bombay. Their game of power and politics takes an unexpected turn when confronted with the imperatives of love and marriage. (1999-05-22) The Body In The Library (Agatha Christie, dram Michael Bakewell, dir Enyd Williams) w/June Whitfield, Richard Todd and Pauline Jameson - When a young blonde is found dead at Gossington Hall, it takes St Mary Mead's most famous resident to solve the vicious murder. (1999-05-29 to 06-04) Murder On The Home Front (Michael Crompton, adap Molly Lefebure, dir John Dove) w/Emily Bruni, Bob Cryer and James Hazeldine 1: Love At First Sight - It is 1941, and a chance encounter in a dancehall leads Molly to romance, murder and a new career. 2: The Case Of A Lifetime - Molly starts work with the famous Home Office pathologist, Hardcastle, and attempts to solve an extraordinary case. (1999-06-12) The Summer Of A Dormouse (John Mortimer) An elderly man stands in the darkening garden of a vicarage by the sea and looks back on a life which seems to have passed as swiftly as Lord Byron's dormouse summer. With Paul Scofield, Alex Jennings, Imelda Staunton and Joanna David. Director Marilyn Imrie. (1999-06-19) Don't Be A Stranger (Carolyn Sally Jones) University law lecturer Dave Trimby's life has been drifting. A young woman turns up on his doorstep and his life takes on a new meaning - but not without a cost. With Peter Egan, Emilia Fox and Christopher Timothy. Director Ralph Rolls. (1999-06-26; Rpt) The King of Prussia (Nick Darke) The year is 1789. The place, just off the Cornish coast. In one direction is a nation on the brink of revolution, in the other a country with a famously demented monarch and a government so desperate to raise revenue that incredibly heavy duty is enforced on most things and smuggling flourishes... With Mike Shepherd, Giles King and Carl Grose. Director Nigel Bryant. (1999-07-03) The Mad Hatter Mystery (John Dickson Carr, dram Peter Ling) When a young journalist is found murdered at Traitor's Gate in thirties fog-bound London, there is a crossbow through his heart and a top hat on his head. With Donald Sinden, John Hartley, Edward Jewesbury and Roger Hammond. Director Enyd Williams. (1999-07-10) In Hope's Hall (Michael Butt) Agnes Tolvitz, once a famous Hollywood producer, now lives alone in poverty in a London bedsit. When Stephen, a young would-be screenwriter visits her, he brings more than his screenplay - he also brings his hopes. In this poignant comedy, hope and success go under the microscope and both are found wanting. With Sian Phillips and Jason Done. Director Andy Jordan. (1999-07-17 to 24) Arlette (Nicholas Freeling, dram Philip Martin) With Stella Gonet, Nigel Anthony and Thelma Whiteley. Director Tamsin Collison. 1: A Long Silence - When her husband Piet is gunned down in the street, Arlette Van der Valk decides to take the law into her own hands. 2: The Widow - Arlette Van der Valk's new venture - a private advice bureau - is about to land her in a whole lot of trouble. (1999-07-31) Perfect Meringues (Laurie Graham) Imelda Staunton as Lizzie Partridge and Christopher Biggins as Louie. Being on television was meant to lead to fame, fortune and a rich social life, but why is Lizzie so miserable, and why can she not get a man? With Lesley Joseph, Stephen Moore, Nina Wadia, Patricia Brake, Angela Morant, June Barrie, Christopher Grimes, Sarah Peedman[?] and Michael Wilson. Produced in Bristol by Viv Beeby. (1999-08-07; Rpt) Mr Percy & The Prophet (Wilkie Collins, adap John Arden) A meeting with a clairvoyant has extraordinary consequences for a sceptical Percy Linwood. But even prophecies do not always go according to plan. With Ronald Pickup, Jonathan Firth and Mark Payton. Director Rosalynd Ward. (1999-08-14; Rpt) The Dark Horse (Rumer Godden, dram Liane Aukin) Set in Calcutta in 1933, this is the story of a great racehorse, the Sisters of Poverty and a miracle - all based on true events. With Dearbhla Molloy, Nickolas Grace and Ioan Meredith. Director David Hunter. (1999-08-21) So Much Blood (Simon Brett, dram Bert Coules) Charles Paris takes his one-man show to the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, filling a vacant spot at a student venue which is a hotbed of behind-the-scenes drama, until a stage dagger turns murderously into a real one. With Bill Nighy, Jimmy Chisholm and John Paul Hurley. Director Gaynor Macfarlane. (1999-08-28) After The Funeral (Agatha Christie, dram Michael Bakewell) Following the interment of Richard Abernethie, his sister Cora blurts out that he was surely murdered. The next day, she is found dead. With John Moffat, Frank Thornton and John Baddeley. Director Enyd Williams. Director Cherry Cookson (1999-09-04; Rpt) Bomber (Len Deighton) Tom Baker narrates a drama-documentary re-creating an RAF bombing mission that took place on Saturday 18 February 1943. Based on Len Deighton's novel, the play is broadcast in episodes throughout the day as though in real time. With Samuel West, Emma Chambers, Jack Shepherd and Frank Windsor. 1: Planning & Preparation. 2: Take-Off - At 1744 hours, 16 heavily laden Lancaster bombers take off for their target in Germany's industrial heartland. 3: The Raid - 1950 hours: The Luftwaffe Nightfighter base at Kroonsvig, Holland, is steeled for tonight's battle with Bomber Command and the crew of Lancaster O-Orange, who, along with 695 bombers, are crossing the North Sea towards their target. 4: The Return Leg - At 2330 hours Group Captain Ludlow, Navigation Leader, issues orders for the return flight. (1999-09-11) In The Cage (Henry James, dram Michelene Wandor) At turn-of-the-century Mayfair, a young girl's employment as a sender of post office telegrams leads to her intense involvement in a clandestine affair. With Emily Bruni, Anna Massey and Adrian Lukis. Director Cherry Cookson. Director Cherry Cookson (1999-09-18) The End Of Love (Rose Tremain) Olga and Bertie's 30-year-old daughter Lottie wishes to marry her Irish poet boyfriend Michael. But Michael is a dreamer, fearful of commitment. He reminds Olga of the love of her life - a Polish pianist. Their love was not enough; why should Lottie's fare any better? With Miriam Margolyes and Nigel Anthony. Director Gordon House. Director Gordon House (1999-09-25) Plain Murder (C S Forester, dram Robin Brooks) Three men working in an advertising agency are caught taking bribes by their office manager. To evade prosecution, the ringleader resorts to murder, drawing his colleagues into a vortex of violence. With Clive Merrison, Nicholas Woodeson and Geoffrey Whitehead. Director Clive Brill. (1999-10-02) Strong Poison (Dorothy L Sayers, dram Michael Bakewell) Can Lord Peter Wimsey prove that Harriet Vane is innocent of poisoning her lover, and can he find the real murderer before Harriet is hanged? With Simon Russell Beale, Emma Fielding and Nicholas Boulton. Director Fiona McLean. (1999-10-09) Dead Man's Music (Gillian Linscott, dram Michael Bakewell) In 1913, a young suffragette with a well-deserved reputation as something of a sleuth is drawn into a case of murder. With Susannah Corbett, Stephen Critchlow and Angela Sims. Director Enyd Williams. (1999-10-16) Past Refrain (Jill Hyem) Lara hears a foreign tune on the radio, which sparks off a deep-seated anxiety. Is there something in her past that she does not know about? With Tracy Wiles, Ben Crowe and Mary Wimbush. Director: Cherry Cookson. (1999-10-23) The Inheritance (Melissa Murray) With Kate Buffery as Simone, and Stella Gonet as Claire. Simone has been exiled from her family since her appearance in a TV programme revealing she is gay. Now she is seriously ill with leukaemia, and her only hope is a bone marrow transplant from a close relative. With Roger Allam and Carolyn Pickles. Director: Cherry Cookson. Director Cherry Cookson (1999-10-30) At The Villa Rose (A E W Mason, dram David Benedictus) When Madame Dauvray is found murdered at her villa, all evidence seems to point to her young English companion Celia Harland. Determined to save her, her fiance tries to persuade France's famous Inspector Hanaud to take up the case. With Andrew Sachs, Ian Masters and Nicholas Rowe. Director Marion Nancarrow. (1999-11-06) In The Woods (Kevin Wong) Crown green bowls - a gentle sport, or so you might think. But in one particular club, corruption, adultery and fraud are never far from the surface. With Pik-Sen Lim and Lynda Baron. Director Sally Avens. Director Cherry Cookson (1999-11-13; Rpt) Clean Break (Val McDermid) Manchester-based private eye Kate Brannigan is not amused when thieves steal a Monet from a stately home where she had arranged the security. She sets off on a chase that takes her across Europe bringing her head to head with organised crime. With Charlotte Coleman, John Lloyd Fillingham and Noreen Kershaw. Director Melanie Harris. (1999-11-20) The Right Chemistry (Val McDermid) Fast-talking Manchester-based private investigator Kate Brannigan is getting to the bottom of a blackmail and counterfeit scam - which also involves murder. With Jane Hazlegrove, Matthew Dunster and Kathryn Hunt. Director Melanie Harris. (1999-11-27) Pierre & Jean (Guy de Maupassant, dram Ayshe Raif) In the busy seaport of Le Havre, two brothers are good-natured rivals in everything. A family secret propels them into an intensely personal story of jealousy and suspicion. With Benedict Sandiford and Tim Treloar. Director: Claire Grove. (1999-12-04) Minuet (Harriet O'Carroll) Starring Helen McCrory as Jane Austen. The story of the novelist Jane Austen's real-life love affair with a romantic young Irishman which fuelled her desire to become a writer. With John Light, John Rowe, Paula Jacobs and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Director: Cherry Cookson. (1999-12-11) Sorry, Wrong Number (Toby Horton) Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster star in the 1950 production of Lucille Fletcher's classic drama of the bedridden, hypochondriac heiress who dials a wrong number and hears two men plotting her murder. `The client says he doesn't want her to suffer long... He wants it to look like a robbery,' declares the unknown voice. William Keighley's original 1950 recording was adapted for Radio 4 by Toby Horton. (1999-12-18) The Children Of Green Knowe (Lucy M Boston, dram Brian Sibley) Starring Patricia Routledge and Dominic Childs. The story of Tolly, who has been sent to spend his Christmas holidays with his great grandmother in an old fenland manor house which is full of secrets, friendly ghosts and children from another time. As Christmas approaches Tolly draws nearer to their world, and magically, is able to become part of it. Director: Marilyn Imrie. (1999-12-25) The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery, trans/dram Bonnie Greer) An aviator believes he is alone in the Sahara Desert until he meets an unusual space traveller - a wise little boy. The child - the Little Prince - has fantastical tales to tell about his amazing interplanetary journey. With Robert Powell and Garrett Moore. Director: Pam Fraser Solomon. BOOK AT BEDTIME10:45pm Weekdays; Individual synopses where available (1999-01-01) Five Dahls (Roald Dahl, read by Patricia Routledge) (Pt5 in 1999) 5: The Way Up To Heaven - Mrs Foster hates to be late, but her husband delights in delaying her. When he holds up her departure for Paris, it is the last straw and she leaves without him. (1999-01-04 to 22) Nana (Emile Zola, adap Doreen Estall, read by Juliet Stevenson) - Zola's colourful novel of the Parisian demi-monde, a powerful evocation of the corrupt world of the Second French Empire that scandalised France on its original publication. (1999-01-25 to 02-05) The Sound Of Trumpets (John Mortimer, abr Neville Teller, read by Rik Mayall) 1: Mortimer's novel is set in Blair's Britain, with Terry Flitton standing as New Labour's candidate for the safe Conservative seat of Hartscombe and Worsfield South. The by-election has been caused by the mysterious death of the sitting MP. 2: Terry Flitton meets Agnes Simcox, owner of The Dust Jacket, Hartscombe's local independent bookshop. And what is the mystery surrounding Slippy Johnson, current at the Skurfield Young Offender's Institute? 3: Politics is simply about winning, said Thatcherite Lord Titmuss, formerly the local MP. My politics is about beliefs, replies Terry Flitton of New Labour as the by-election campaign hots up. 4: Flitton goes horse-riding with Agnes Simcox and canvassing with his beautiful wife Kate, as his appearance on a local radio chat show has not been favourably received. 5: Flitton is unintentionally caught up in the Hartscombe Hunt and is embarrassed to find his photograph on the front page of The Sentinel. 6: Lord Titmuss is up to his usual skullduggery as he discovers the New Labour candidate in an embrace with Agnes Simcox and the truth surrounding the mysterious death of the former MP for Hartscombe and Worsfield South. 7: Blackmail and political manoeuvring abound as polling day looms. 8: No synopsis. 9: Will Flitton become Labour MP for Hartscombe and Worsfield South? Will his affair with Agnes Simcox be exposed? 10: Will Lord Titmuss still be king of his local area, or has his crown been usurped? (1999-02-08 to 12; Rpt) Mark Twain Stories (read by Kelsey Grammer, apr Duncan Minshull) Five tales by the master storyteller. 1: A Day At Niagara - A visit to the Falls reveals a modern-day theme park in all its glory. 2: The Facts In The Great Beef Contract - A piece of bureaucracy plays havoc with those involved. 3: Experience Of The MacWilliamses With Membraneous Croup - No synopsis. 4: A Ghost Story - Bumps in the night. 5: Cannibalism In The Cars - The train is marooned for days. No food. And it is time for supper. (1999-02-15 to 26) Post Captain (Patrick O'Brien, read by Patrick Malahide) The fortunes of Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend Dr Stephen Maturin in the Royal Navy of Nelson's time. (1999-03-01 to 12) Ernest Hemingway Centenary - The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway, read by John Sharian) Hemingway's acclaimed novel, whose protagonist, Jake Barnes, speaks for the Lost Generation of men and women drifting through a shattered Europe after the First World War. (1999-03-15 to 19; Rpt) Strait Is The Gate (Andre Gide, trans Dorothy Bussy, abr Morag Lyall, read by David McKail) Gide's story of lost love. (1999-03-22 to 26) Radio 4 At The Word - Five stories about London and its inhabitants by writers participating in `The Word', London's first festival of literature. 1: Angel On The Roof (Shirley Hughes, read by Jonathan Firth) Lewis Brown leads a solitary life until he discovers that an angel is living on the roof of his parents' house. 2: Best Wishes From Jemima Shore (Antonia Fraser, read by Patricia Hodge) During a rather unsuccessful book-signing tour, TV presenter and amateur sleuth Jemima Shore is suddenly presented with an alarming request from an admirer. 3: Furniture (Michael Moorcock, read by Maggie Steed) Vi Corren's love of well-made, second-hand furniture proves to be a life-saver on more than one occasion. 4: The Melting Bed (Emily Perkins, read by unknown) Lies can be hurtful but they can also be exciting. Dishonesty and its different effects are explored in this compelling story. 5: Dr Johnson's First Cat (Richard Holmes, read by John Rowe) The little-known story of fair Esther and her cat, and the profound effect they were to have on the work of Dr Johnson, especially his great Dictionary of the English Language. (1999-03-29 to 04-02; Rpt) My Mother's House (Colette, abr Catherine Lockerbie, read by Janet Suzman) 1: The doyenne of French literature recalls the sights, sounds and smells from her childhood in rural France, when her mother was the centre of her world. 2: Colette remembers what her father taught her of politics, and her mother of animals. 3: The young Colette is caught up in her family's traditions and ceremonies concerning marriage and childbirth. 4: Colette recalls her family's pet dog, Toutouque, and her mother's ambivalent views on religion. 5: Colette remembers her mother's defiant encounters with ageing and death. (1999-04-05 to 16) Archangel (Robert Harris, read by Alan Howard) The bestselling thriller. 1: A spectre is haunting the new Russia - Joseph Stalin. At midnight in a Moscow hotel room, Professor Fluke Kelso is listening to a story that could make or break his reputation. If it is true, Stalin is about to return from the grave 2: An eyewitness to Stalin's death claims to know where the dictator's legendary notebook is buried 3: In an abandoned Moscow garden, Fluke Kelso finds the spot where Papu Rapava buried Stalin's notebook in 1953 4: Papu Rapava knows where the notebook is, but there is more than one person on his trail 5: Papu Rapava is dead, but his daughter has the key to a garage on the outskirts of Moscow where Fluke Kelso believes Stalin's notebook lies hidden. 6: Kelso has a black oilskin notebook that used to belong to Josef Stalin. The story within points him to the dark forests around the northern port of Archangel. 7: Fluke Kelso and journalist R J O'Brian are a couple of hours ahead of the Russian secret service in their race to find the girl who loved Josef Stalin. 8: Kelso and O'Brian have 24 hours to uncover the secrets in the forest before the northern snows cut off the port of Archangel and trap them there for the winter. 9: Out in the forests, Kelso and O'Brian are out of their depth. 10: As the last train out of Archangel rattles towards Moscow, Russia is on the brink of a seismic change (1999-04-19 to 30) The Service Of Clouds (Susan Hill, read by Joanna David) Hill's new novel. (1999-05-03 to 14) Death In Summer (William Trevor, abr John Hartley, read by Robin Ellis) The death of Thaddeus Davenant's wife Letitia brings about many changes. Their baby daughter must be cared for and, at Letitia's insistence, so must an old flame. (1999-05-17 to 21; Rpt) Snakes & Ladders - Gita Mehta reads five extracts from her book about India since independence. 1: Father decided that Mother should learn how to fly an aeroplane. 2: Our film censors had made it official. Kissing was un-Indian. 3: Elections in India and half a billion ballot papers are in 17 different languages. 4: One hundred and sixty families are bought out of bondage for a few hundred dollars. 5: What's the big deal? Worshipping videos? Get a grip. This is India. (1999-05-24 to 28) The Captain's Daughter (Alexander Pushkin, abr Doreen Estall, read by Jonathan Firth) A swashbuckling tale of love, heroism and civil war on the Russian Steppes, from the father of the Russian novel. (1999-04-31 to 06-04; Rpt) Summit Fever - Novice climber Andrew Greig describes his experience of climbing the Mustagh Tower in the Himalayas. (1999-06-07 to 11) Virago Short Stories - A week of stories celebrating 21 years of Virago Modern Classics. 1: Goodbye & Good Luck (Grace Paley, read by Miriam Margolyes) Brooklyn, New York. The Yiddish theatre. A tale of passion and prudence over half a century. 2: A Love Match (Sylvia Townsend Warner, read by Juliet Stevenson) All is not as it seems in the small town of Hallowby between a sister and her war-bruised brother. 3: Why Herbert Killed His Mother (Winifred Holtby, read by Maggie Steed) A searing and hilarious condemnation of `mother love'. 4: No Place for You, My Love (Eudora Welty, read by Lorelei King) A brief encounter in the lost lands of the Mississippi Delta. 5: The Devastating Boys (Elizabeth Taylor, read by Sarah Badel) The arrival of two little boys from London for a fortnight changes Laura's life for ever. (1999-06-14 to 25) Tulip Fever (Deborah Moggach, abr Elizabeth Bradbury, read by Emma Fielding and William Gaminara) The bestselling story of passion in 17th-century Holland. An artist falls for his married subject against a backdrop of tulip mania. (1999-06-28 to ) Perch Hill (Adam Nicholson, abr Andrew Simpson, read by Robert Glenister) Nicholson's new book charts his move to the country and to farming in the Sussex Weald. (1999-06-28 to 07-09) Perch Hill (Adam Nicholson, abr Andrew Simpson, read by Robert Glenister) Nicholson's new book charts his move to the country and to farming in the Sussex Weald. (1999-07-12 to 16; Rpt) Charles Dickens, Journalist (abr Paul Kent, read by Martin Jarvis) Five pieces of journalism by the master of Victorian literature. 1: A Flight - A humorous account of a journey by train from London to Paris. 2: Night Walks - Suffering from insomnia, Dickens encounters strange people as he walks the London streets. 3: Wapping Workhouse - Dickens investigates the disturbing reports of conditions in London's workhouses. 4: Railway Strikes - Dickens criticises striking railway workers for putting the nation's safety at risk. 5: Red Tape - The farce that lies behind the red tape of parliamentary procedure is exposed in this satirical account. (1999-07-19 to 23) The First Men In The Moon (H G Wells, read by Tom Baker) In 1899, Mr Bedford and Mr Cavor went to the moon, but only one came back... (1999-07-26 to 08-06) Private Angelo (Eric Linklater, abr Trevor Royle, read by Simon Russell Beale) To mark Linklater's centenary year. 1: The Scottish author's satirical novel about the misadventures of an Italian soldier during the Second World War. 2: Angelo becomes private language tutor to General Hammerfuter. 3: The more he considered it, the more he hated the prospect of going anywhere near the firing line. 4: Angelo changes sides for a second time. 5: Angelo is reunited with an old comrade from his original regiment. 6: Unk. 7: After three years away, Angelo returns home to Pontefiore and his beloved Lucrezia. 8: Lucrezia will not be pleased when she learns I am to become a soldier in the infantry again. 9: Angelo is badly wounded at the battle of Santerno. 10: We have learned the most useful of all accomplishments, which is to survive! (1999-08-09 to 20) Eucalyptus (Murray Bail, read by Robert Menzies) Bail's award-winning love story, set on a eucalyptus plantation in New South Wales. (1999-08-23 to 09-03) Elective Affinities (Goethe, trans R J Hollingdale, abr Jenny Thompson, read by Alex Jennings) 1: Goethe's love story set on a German estate examining the power of overriding attraction and the pull of fate. 2: Will the arrival of the Captain disturb Charlotte and Eduard's idyll? 3: Charlotte's decision to bring Ottilie to the mansion promises to alter the chemical balance. 4: Passions can no longer be contained. 5: Charlotte must reach a decision. 6: With both men gone, Charlotte and Ottilie must live together on the estate. 7: Will Charlotte's revelation change everything? 8: Despite his wife's revelation, Eduard will not - cannot - give up Ottilie. 9: Unknown. 10: Eduard has confronted Ottilie - and all four lovers are returned to the mansion. (1999-09-06 to 17) Headlong (Michael Frayn, abr Paul Kent, read by Martin Jarvis) Frayn's new novel. (1999-09-20 to 10-08) The Ground Beneath Her Feet (Salman Rushdie, abr Doreen Estall, read by Art Malik) Rushdie's latest novel is an epic tale of love, death and rock 'n' roll. (1999-10-11 to 22) Beowulf (Seamus Heaney) Heaney reads from his new translation of the great Anglo-Saxon poem. 1: In the years after the funeral of King Shield Sheafson, the warrior of the Danes, the evil fiend Grendel rises to prowl the land. At the court of Hygelac in Geatland, a great warrior prepares to help King Hrothgar. 2: Beowulf arrives in the land of the Shieldings and explains his mission to Hrothgar, the Danish king. 3: Beowulf's first encounter with the evil monster Grendel. 4: Hrothgar, King of the Danes, hosts a victory feast to celebrate Beowulf's defeat of the evil monster Grendel. 5: After King Hrothgar's great victory feast for Beowulf, Grendel's mother appears to avenge the death of her son. 6: Beowulf's fight with evil Grendel's mother. 7: Home after ridding the Danes of Grendel and his mother, Beowulf is welcomed at the court of Hygelac, king of the Geats. 8: After the death of King Hygelac, Beowulf rules the land of the Geats for 50 winters. Then a dragon awakes. 9: Beowulf, who has ruled the Geats for 50 winters, fights the dragon. 10: Seamus Heaney with a final reading from his new translation of the great Anglo-Saxon poem. (1999-10-25 to 11-03) Tara Road (Maeve Binchy, read by Pauline McLynn) Ria and Danny are a young couple from poor backgrounds who have managed to buy a huge house in Dublin. But Ria's dreams are shattered when Danny finds a very different woman. (1999-11-04 to 05) Dead On Deansgate 1: Michael Connelly, international guest of honour at this year's crime fiction convention in Manchester, reads an extract from his latest Harry Bosch thriller Angels Flight. 2: Val McDermid, British guest of honour at this year's crime fiction convention in Manchester, reads an extract from her latest thriller A Place of Execution. (1999-11-08 to 19) Eugenie Grandet (Balzac, trans Sylvia Raphael, abr Doreen Estall, read by Juliet Stevenson) 1: The story of the power of avarice and the pity of unrequited passion in provincial France. 6: Grandet pulls off a master stroke as Eugenie discovers the depth of her beloved cousin's plight. (1999-11-22 to 26) Second Harvest (Jean Giono, abr Katie Campbell, read by Stephen Critchlow) A love story in which crumbling Provencal village is enlivened by the appearance of a mystery woman. (1999-11-29 to 12-03) Departures & Arrivals (Eric Newby, abr Pauline Barley) Newby, who is 80 next week, reads five extracts from his latest book of travel and personal memoirs. (1999-12-06 to 17) Fasting, Feasting (Anita Desai, abr Elizabeth Bradbury, read by Sudha Bhuchar & Paul Bhattacharjee) Desai's new novel is a tale of two families, two cultures and inescapable destiny. 1: Today Uma's story begins... 6: After her disastrous marriage, can Uma escape her destiny? 8: The story moves to Massachusetts and Uma's younger brother's experiences of a new culture. (1999-12-20 to 24) Chosen For Christmas 1: Richard Briers reads `Dulce Domum' from `The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame. 2: Felicity Kendal reads `A Second Christmas In Kenya' from `The Flame Trees Of Thika' by Elspeth Huxley. 3: Miriam Margolyes reads `Christmas Eve in New York' from `A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' by Betty Smith. 4: Emma Fielding reads `Natasha's First Ball' from `War & Peace' by Leo Tolstoy. 5: Tim Pigott-Smith reads `Christmas Truce 1914' from `A Fox Under My Cloak' by Henry Williamson. (1999-12-27; Rpt) Goodbye & Good Luck (Grace Paley, abr Di Speirs, read by Miriam Margolyes) The wonderful and witty New York love story - a tale of passion and prudence over half a century. (1999-12-28; Rpt) A Love Match (Sylvia Townsend Warner, abr Di Speirs, read by Juliet Stevenson) All is not as it seems between a sister and her war-bruised brother in the small town of Hallowby (1999-12-29; Rpt) Why Herbert Killed His Mother (Winifred Holtby, abr Di Speirs, read by Maggie Steed) A searing and hilarious condemnation of mother love. (1999-12-30; Rpt) The Devastating Boys (Elizabeth Taylor, abr Di Speirs, read by Sarah Badel) The arrival of two little boys from London for a fortnight changes Laura's life for ever. (1999-12-31) No programme. THE LATE BOOK12:30am Weekday Nights; Individual synopses where available (1999-01-01 to 08) The Restraint Of Beasts (Magnus Mills, read by Gavin Muir) (Parts 5-10 in 1999) No synopsis. (1999-01-11 to 22) Last Resort (Alison Lurie, read by Kate Harper) Professor Wilkie Walker is convinced he is dying of cancer. His wife Jenny is baffled by his withdrawn silences. She suggests they spend the winter in Florida in a Key West location known locally as the Last Resort. (1999-01-25 to 29) Round Ireland With A Fridge (Tony Hawks, read by author) In 1997, as a result of a drunken bet, Tony Hawks hitchhiked his way around Ireland with a fridge. Some of the highlights of this memorable voyage are recalled by the author. (1999-02-01 to 12) Lemona's Tale (Ken Saro-Wiwa, abr Stewart Conn, read by Adjoa Andoh) - In a Nigerian prison on the eve of her execution for a double murder, the beautiful Lemona tells her story to the daughter of her alleged victims. (1999-02-15 to 19; Rpt) All Points North (wri/read by Simon Armitage) A series of wry, affectionate and witty reports on life in Armitage's home village of Marsden, Yorkshire. (1999-02-22 to 26) Sam Peckinpah - If It Moves... Kill 'Em (David Weddle, abr Doreen Estall, read by Bill Hootkins) Biography. (1999-03-01 to 05; Rpt) Stories By Anton Chekhov (read by Alastair McGowan) 1: An Incident - Two children, two pets, one stranger and a small domestic disaster. 2: A Play - She insists on showing him her terrible work, so he takes drastic action. 3: The Old House - A landlord shows one of his properties. The memories are traumatic. 4: Ivan Matveyitch - A topsy-turvy but enduring friendship between an old academic and a young boy. 5: Bad Weather - What has a husband been up to in Moscow? (1999-03-08 to 12) Golf Dreams (John Updike) The renowned American novelist John Updike recalls a lifetime's passion for golf - a passion bordering on obsession. (NB: This was a four-parter, with Ep 47 of This Sceptred Isle billed as appearing on the Tuesday) (1999-03-15 to 19; Rpt) The Mask of Command John Keegan's account of the nature of leadership, read by Tim Pigott-Smith. Abridged by Trevor Royle. (1999-03-22 to 26; Rpt) Raymond Carver Short Stories (read by unknown) Stories from one of the modern masters of the American short story. 1: Are These Actual Miles? - Leo and Toni are on the edge of bankruptcy, so Toni is getting dolled up to go out and sell the car for the best possible price. 2: They're Not Your Husband - Earl needs to find a job, but first he wants his wife to lose weight. 3: Sacks - A travelling salesman has a chance meeting with his long-lost father and hears an unwanted confession. 4: Neighbors - A dispirited couple, Tom and Arlene, live a fantasy life in an apartment they are meant to be house-sitting. 5: Collectors - A vacuum cleaner salesman tries his sales pitch on a mysterious home owner. (1999-03-29 to 04-02) Age Of Austerity (abr Kati Nicholl) - Peter Hennessy introduces five readings by the original writers from a celebrated collection of essays evoking the mood of postwar Britain. 1: We Are The Masters Now (Anthony Howard) - No synopsis. 2: The Spivs (David Hughes) - A sketch of shortage-struck London. 3: Snoek Piquante (Susan Cooper) - The grim and farcical world of food rationing. 4: The New Look (Pearson Phillips) - The magical world of Paris fashion hit drab 40s London. 5: Festival (Michael Frayn) The famously ironic account of the 1951 Festival of Britain with its uncanny foreshadowing of the Millennium Dome. (1999-04-05 to 16) Earthly Joys (Philippa Gregory, abr Alison Joseph, read by Kevin Whately) The fascinating and turbulent novel about the Jacobean gardener and adventurer John Tradescant. (1999-04-19 to 30; Rpt) Biggest Elvis (P F Kluge, abr Chris Wallis, read by Ron Berglas) Novel about three Elvis impersonators working in the Philippines. (1999-05-03 to 07; Rpt) Amazonians - Five readings from the Amazonian collection of women's travel writing. 1: The Undiscovered Road - Imogen Stubbs revisits her childhood through her young daughter's eyes. 2: Leisure Seasons - Lucretia Stewart returns to Cambodia after a long absence. 3: Hard Currency - Lesley Downer journeys to the excitement and contradictions of Ghana. 4: Tinsel & Kalashnikovs - Shena Mackay travels to Pakistan to meet up with her daughter. 5: The Good Ferry - Kate Pullinger returns to British Columbia, to the land she left as a teenager. (1999-05-10 to 14) The Womanizer (Richard Ford, abr Kate Campbell, read by William Hope) While on business in Paris, Austin meets the beautiful Josephine. But he is only there for three days. (1999-05-17 to 21) King (John Berger, abr Doreen Estall) Berger reads from his novel. Somewhere on the fringes of a European city, a dog recounts the stories of his fellow wasteland-dwellers as they face 24 dangerous hours. (1999-05-24 to 28; Rpt) White Cargo (Felicity Kendal, abr Sarah Hemming) Autobiography. 1: Nil By Mouth. 2: Early Stages. 3: Made In India. 4: Making Good. 5: The Last Passage. (1999-04-31 to 06-04) Gates Of Eden (Ethan Coen) Five stories from new fiction writer Coen, best known for his film scripts `Fargo' and `The Big Lebowski'. 1: A Fever In The Blood (read by Stuart Milligan) 2: The Old Country (read by Ron Berglas) 3: There Is An Ancient Mariner (read by Stuart Milligan) 4: The Boys (read by Ron Berglas) 5: Gates Of Eden (read by William Hope) (1999-06-07 to 11; Rpt) Boyhood (J M Coetzee, abd Katrin Williams, read by George Baker) The moving account of a South African childhood. (1999-06-14 to 25; Rpt) The Woman & The Ape (Peter Hoeg, trans Barbara Haveland, abr Penny Leicester, read by Helen Schlesinger) The story begins with the arrival in London of a highly intelligent ape called Erasmus. But his freedom is soon to be sacrificed to the ambitions of a ruthless zoologist. (1999-06-28 to ) Close Range (Annie Proulx, abr Pat McLoughlin, read by Garrick Hagon) Five weird and wonderful stories set in Wyoming. 1: The Half-Skinned Steer. 2: The Bunchgrass Edge of the World, Part 1. 3: The Bunchgrass Edge of the World, Part 2. (1999-06-28 to 07-02) Close Range (Annie Proulx, abr Pat McLoughlin, read by Garrick Hagon) Five weird and wonderful stories set in Wyoming. 1: The Half-Skinned Steer. 2: The Bunchgrass Edge of the World, Part 1. 3: The Bunchgrass Edge of the World, Part 2. 4: Brokeback Mountain, Part 1. 5: Brokeback Mountain, Part 2. (1999-07-05 to 16; Rpt) About A Boy (Nick Hornby, read by Stephen Tompkinson) (1999-07-19 to 23) Return To Earth (Buzz Aldrin, abr Doreen Estall, read by John Sharian) Aldrin's 1973 autobiography describes his journey to the moon and the challenge he faced on his return. (1999-07-26 to 08-06) Killing Me Softly (Nicci French, abr Ruth Petrie, read by Amanda Root) The new compelling thriller tells the story of a passionate and dangerous affair. (1999-08-09 to 20; Rpt) Armadillo (William Boyd, abr Neville Teller, read by Stephen Critchlow) Boyd's novel provides an insight into the murky world of loss-adjusting. (1999-08-23 to 27) Elementals (A S Byatt, abr Sheila Fox, read by Patricia Hodge) Byatt's most recent collection of short stories. 1: Crocodile Tears. 2: Crocodile Tears. 3: Baglady - A middle-aged English lady on a shopping trip with a difference. 4: Lamia In The Clevennes - An artist finds his muse in the most unusual of places. 5: Christ In The House Of Martha & Mary - A cook learns to appreciate her art. (1999-08-30 to 09-03; Rpt) Dancing Away (Deborah Bull with Jo Morris, abr Doreen Estall) The Royal Ballet's principal dancer reads five extracts from her diary covering a year at the crisis-torn Royal Opera House. (1999-09-06 to 10) Buxton Spice (Oonya Kempadoo, abr Pauline Wallis, read by Martina Laird) Innocence turns into experience as Lula grows up in Guyana, in a first novel as delicious as the fruits of the Buxton Spice mango tree. (1999-09-13 to 24) The Business (Iain Banks, abr Neville Teller, read by Valerie Edmond) 1: Kate Telman, a senior executive of the Business, a powerful but secretive transglobal organisation, is at the forefront of modern technology. A bizarre phone call, followed by an unscheduled visit to a company silex factory raises questions about corrupt dealings. She consults her senior, Uncle Freddie, about her next move. 2: Kate's suspicions of corrupt practice grow, following a visit to a company factory. 3: At a gathering of top executives of the Business at Blysecrag in Yorkshire, Kate is rejected by the man she loves. 4: Kate is summoned to meet a senior executive of the Business in Nebraska. 5: Kate has a surprise offer to become an ambassador to a remote Himalayan state. 6: Kate, back in Thulahn, is summoned to meet the strange and formidable Queen Mother. 7: Kate's visit to Thulahn is interrupted by the unexpected return of the Prince with a proposal. 8: Kate discovers that Uncle Freddy is in hospital. What she learns on seeing him sends her on a quest to unravel the truth. 9: Kate arranges to meet Hazleton's right-hand man to discover the truth. 10: Kate applies pressure to get some answers about the goings-on at the Silex factory. (1999-09-27 to 10-08) Amsterdam (Ian McEwan, abr Penny Leicester, read by Michael Kitchen) 1: The plot of McEwan's Booker Prize-winning novel centres on newspaper revelations about the private life of the Foreign Secretary. 2: Vernon is served with an injunction to stop him publishing photographs of the Foreign Secretary. 3: Clive and Vernon make a euthanasia pact, agreeing to help the other die in the event of losing their minds. 4: Clive and Vernon argue about the morality of publishing photographs of the Foreign Secretary dressed in women's clothes. 5: Walking in the Lake District in an attempt to find inspiration for his Millennium Symphony, Clive witnesses an argument between two hikers. 6: Photographers gather outside Julian Garmony's house. 7: Vernon urges Clive to go to the police about the Lakeland rapist, but Clive is in the middle of finishing his Millennium Symphony. 8: Vernon is sacked as editor of the Judge. 9: Clive travels to Amsterdam for the performance of his Millennium Symphony, determined to exact revenge on Vernon. 10: Clive and Vernon exact revenge on each other. (1999-10-11 to 22) A Star Called Henry (Roddy Doyle, read by Ciaran Hinds) 1: Henry Smart is born in the Dublin slums in 1901. His father is a one-legged hit man whose wooden leg proves an effective tool of the trade. As Henry brawls and steals to survive, he begins to follow in his father's footsteps in more ways than he can imagine. 6: Fourteen-year-old Henry Smart has taken part in the Easter Uprising. In the basement of Dublin's occupied post office, his former teacher Miss O'Shea has given him a lesson in seduction. Having escaped execution by diving down a manhole, Henry is now beginning a new chapter in his life. (1999-10-25 to 29) Speed Of Sound (Scott Eyman, read by Paul Birchard) The acclaimed account of one of the most turbulent periods in Hollywood history - the talkie revolution. 1: In the late summer of 1927, the silent film was at the height of its aesthetic and commercial success. But in October, the release of `The Jazz Singer' was to change everything. 2: It may have been `The Jazz Singer' that in 1927 heralded the end of silent cinema, but talking films had been around for decades. 3: William Fox's Movietone, Warner Brothers' Vitaphone, and the battle for sound supremacy. 4: `Wally Beery has a voice! Wally Beery has a voice!' As audiences flock to the talkies, the silent stars quail before the tyranny of the microphone. 5: By 1930 the talkies have taken over. According to silent swashbuckler Douglas Fairbanks, `The romance of motion picture ends here'. (1999-11-01 to 05; Rpt) Cod - A Biography Of The Fish That Changed The World (Mark Kurlansky, read by Rick Stein) Kurlansky's compelling history of the humble cod. Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been triggered by it, national diets are based on it and whole economies have depended on it. (1999-11-08 to 19) Going Loco (Lynne Truss, abr Katrin Williams, read by Josie Lawrence) 1: A comic tale of mad Swedish geneticists, clones, doubles, cut-throat journalism and Abba. 6: The search for the truth about a cunning clone reaches the depths of a madhouse in Malmo and stretches back to a bewildering array of doubles appearing in London. Abridged by Katrin Williams (6/10). (1999-11-22 to 12-03) Waiting For The Dark, Waiting For The Light (Ivan Klima, read by David Calder) 1: In Czechoslovakia at the time of the Velvet Revolution, Pavel is a television cameraman who works uneasily within the boundaries set by the government. 6: Carrying his camera on his shoulder, Pavel pushes his way through the crowd. The demonstrations have now been going on for five days... (1999-12-06 to 17) Ocean Sea (Alessandro Baricco, abr Paul Kent, read by Sean Barrett & Joanna Monro) 1: Six strangers meet at a remote seaside inn. Each has a very different story to tell and yet their fates seem inextricably linked. 6: Tension mounts as the purpose behind the gathering of six strangers at the Almayer Inn is slowly revealed. (1999-12-20 to 30) All Quiet On The Orient Express (Magnus Mills, abr Neville Teller, read by Nick Mercer) Mills's novel takes us to a village in the Lakes, where a man and his oil drums present a dangerous obsession. (1999-12-31) No programme. SERIAL9:45am Weekdays; Individual synopses where available (1999-01-01) Peter Pan & Wendy (J M Barrie, read by Alan Bennett) (Pt5 in 1999) (1999-01-04 to 08) The Vanished World (H E Bates, abr Richard Bates, read by Philip Franks) (1999-01-11 to 15) The Doctor, The Detective & Arthur Conan Doyle (Martin Booth, read by Michael Williams) Biography. (1999-01-18 to 22) Iris (John Bayley, abr Alison Joseph, read by Oliver Ford Davies) Biography of Iris Murdoch by her husband Bayley. (1999-01-25 to 29) The Victorian Internet (Tom Standage, abr James Robertson, read by David Rintoul) Non-fiction. The social and scientific history of the 19th-century precursor to the World Wide Web - the electric telegraph (1999-02-01 to 05) Best American Essays - Non-fiction. A selection of top items first published in American magazines. 1: Influenza 1918 (Jane Brox) - The flu epidemic in Lawrence, Massachusetts, claimed more victims in the town than the First World War. 2: Reading Aloud (Nicholson Baker) - Baker's entertaining account of his first public reading at the Edinburgh Book Festival. 3: One Violent Crime (Bruce Shapiro) - Eyewitness accounts of a random knife attack in which seven people were stabbed in a coffee shop. 4: Last Call Of The Wild (Jonathan Rabin) - The passion and pleasure of fly-fishing for wild steelhead trout in the rivers east of Seattle. 5: Take The F (Ian Frazier) - An insider's view of New York life, via the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan. (1999-02-08 to 12) The Tulip (wri/read by Anna Pavord) Non-fiction. The story of the remarkable flower which arrived from Turkey and took Western Europe by storm. (1999-02-15 to 19) Planet Of The Blind (Stephen Kuusisto, adap Lavinia Murray, read by Ron Berglas) Biography. 1: A Boyhood Of Thrills & Nausea - Born almost blind, Stephen Kuusisto grew up in America and Finland pretending he could see. In his haunting personal memoir, he describes the struggle to come to terms with his condition, and life in an opaque and dangerous world. 2: Learning How To Starve - Stephen Kuusisto's adolescent years, including the first kiss, weight problems and a terror of cars. 3: Cigarettes, Booze & Poetry - Stephen Kuusisto spends his college years in Iowa and Helsinki, where he continues to struggle against his blindness. 4: A Long, Folding White Cane - An accident forces Stephen Kuusisto to come to terms with his impaired sight and to telephone the New York Commission for the Blind. 5: Corky's In Love - Stephen Kuusisto finally accepts his condition and takes delivery of a guide dog. (1999-02-22 to 26) The Spirit Wrestlers (Philip Marsden, read by Philip Franks) Biography. 1: The Edge Of The World - The author journeys through post-Soviet Russia in search of the forgotten radicals who inhabit the furthest rim of the fraying southern border. 2: The Old Believers - An extraordinary tale of miraculous church building. 3: The Cossacks - A visit to the old Cossack communities in the South. 4: Longevity In The Caucasus - Marsden meets old Russians who claim to owe their long lives to eating yeast. 5: The Spark - Rejecting religious orthodoxy and ritual as too cumbersome for the soul, the Doukhobors strive to release the spirit and light within each human being. (1999-03-01 to 05) Zarafa (Michael Alin, read by Andrew Sachs) Non-fiction. In 1826, a giraffe given to the king of France by the viceroy of Egypt walked 550 miles from Marseilles to Paris, drawing crowds wherever she went. Sachs tells the story of the gift to a king that won the hearts of a nation. (1999-03-08 to 12) The Pleasures Of The Table (read by Maureen O'Brien) Non-fiction. A week of readings in celebration of food and wine by five writers. (1999-03-15 to 19) Letters From My Windmill (Alphonse Daudet, read by Stephen Fry) Five extracts from Daudet's reflections on his spiritual love affair with the region of Provence and its people. 1: My Windmill As I First Knew It 2: Old Cornille's Secret 3: The Fable Of The Man With The Golden Brain and The Girl From Arles 4: The Old Couple 5: The Two Inns and The Vicar Of Cucagnan (1999-03-22) Radio 4 At The Word - Five new works by well-known writers who will be participating in The Word, the first London Festival of Literature. 1: My Journey To Speer (wr/read by Gitta Sereny) A young girl witnesses with increasing horror the rise of fascism in Vienna. 2: Grape Jelly (wri/read by Jan Morris) 3: Unknown (wri/read by Wole Soyinka) A new work by the Nobel Prize-winning Nigerian author. 4: A Week In Heidelberg (wri/read by Doris Lessing) While in Heidelberg for the rehearsals of an opera created by herself and Philip Glass, Lessing finds herself listening to music of a very different kind. 5: The Day I Failed To Be Che Guevara (wri/read by Ariel Dorfman) A personal story of survival. (1999-03-29 to 04-02) Pilate - The Biography Of An Invented Man (Anne Wroe, read by Fiona Shaw) Who was Pontius Pilate? A bad man or a good man destined to do the wrong thing? Five extracts from Wroe's new book, which unravels the identities and myths surrounding the villain of the Easter story. (1999-04-05 to 09) Just William - The 80th Anniversary (Richmal Crompton, read by Martin Jarvis) Five Crompton stories new to radio, to celebrate the first appearance of her immortal 11-year-old in 1919. 1: April Fool's Day 2: That Boy 3: The Bishop's Handkerchief 4: The Haunted House 5: The Cure (1999-04-12 to 16) Choice Chatwin - A week of readings from Bruce Chatwin's books, with contributions from friends and family of the writer, who is also the subject of a recent biography and a film. 1: In Patagonia (read by Nicholas Shakespeare) 2: On The Black Hill (read by Susannah Clapp) 3: The Songlines (read by Nicholas Shakespeare) 4: Utz (read by Susannah Clapp) 5: Your Father's Eyes Are Blue Again (read by Hugh Chatwin), The Albatross (read by Peter Eyre) (1999-04-19 to 23) Thoughts Of An Idle Fellow (Jerome K Jerome, abr Neville Teller, read by Hugh Laurie) Five humorous essays on everyday events seen from the viewpoint of view of an idle fellow. 1: On Being Idle 2: On Cats & Dogs 3: On Being In Love 4: On Eating & Drinking 5: On Babies (1999-04-26 to 30) Nathaniel's Nutmeg (Giles Milton, read by Ben Onwukwe) Non fiction. The story of the spice wars in the 16th and 17th centuries. 1: How the Dutch swapped Manhattan for the forgotten island of Run in the East Indies. 2: Francis Drake's successful voyage to the East Indies. 3: Anglo-Dutch rivalry in the East Indies intensifies. 4: Henry Hudson's search for the Northwest Passage. 5: The Dutch take the island of Run, and the English take Manhattan. (1999-05-03 to 07) Love Is Where It Falls (Simon Callow, abr Lavinia Murray) Biography. 1: Simon Callow reads his moving and witty account of his passionate friendship with the legendary literary agent Peggy Ramsay, and his love affair with Aziz, a tragic young Egyptian film-maker. 2: Clouds gather as Aziz's mental state deteriorates and Ramsay buys Callow a flat. 3: Callow publishes his first book - Being An Actor. Ramsay discovers a lump in her breast and Aziz commits suicide. 4: Ramsay starts to show signs of encroaching Alzheimer's, to Callow's distress. 5: Bill dies and Ramsay's health declines. Callow becomes more paternal towards her and stands vigil over her deathbed. (1999-05-10 to 14) The Trials Of Radclyffe Hall (Diana Souhami, abr Pat McLoughlin) Maureen O'Brien reads Souhami's new biography of the novelist Radclyffe Hall, whose book The Well of Loneliness was the subject of a notorious obscenity trial. (1999-05-17 to 21) Dreambirds (Rob Nixon, abr Doreen Estall) The amazing history of the ostrich is interwoven with a moving account of a South African childhood. (1999-05-24 to 28) Other People's Shoes (Harriet Walter) Walter reads five extracts from her book. 1: A Bit Of My Own Story - I had the sensation for the first time that I didn't just long to act. I might actually be able to do it. 2: Other People's Shoes. 3: Character & Context - How to create a role. 4: Performance. 5: Chalk & Cheese. (1999-05-31 to 06-04) Driving Over Lemons (Chris Stewart, read by Mick Ford) When drummer Chris Stewart left an unknown group called Genesis to become a peasant farmer in Spain, he had little idea that the band would make millions. But he never looked back and, becoming Cristobel el Pelador - the mechanised sheep shearer - was a league away from money and fame. (1999-06-07 to 11) Lord Denning - In His Own Words - Benjamin Whitrow reads from The Discipline Of Law by Lord Denning. 1: The Word Of The Law. 2: Contempt Of Court. 3: The Conduct Of Judges & The Delays Of Lawyers. 4: The Conduct Of Ministers. 5: How I Learned My Trade. (1999-06-14 to 18) All Too Human - For five years George Stephanopoulos was rarely more than a few steps from Bill Clinton's side. As the president's chief spin doctor, he witnessed it all. In extracts from his candid memoirs, he reveals how his dream job in the inner sanctum of US political power turned into a nightmare (1999-06-21 to 25) Disappearance (Genevieve Jurgensen, abr Elizabeth Bradbury, trans Adriana Hunter,.read by Penelope Wilton) Jurgensen's moving account of the loss of her two young daughters, her grief and survival. (1999-06-28 to 07-02) The Right Set - Non-fiction. A week of readings from a new tennis anthology to mark the start of Wimbledon. (1999-10-25 to 29) Adrian Mole - The Cappuccino Years (Sue Townsend, adap Elizabeth Proud) With Nigel Planer as Mole. 1: Cooking For A Living - In 1997, Adrian Mole, failed writer and single parent, is working as a chef in Soho when he is invited to take part in a new cookery programme. Director John Tydeman. 2: Being A Parent - It was Adrian's wish that William should enter the world via warm water, candlelight and Bach, as described in a leaflet by the Society of Radical Midwives. His wife, however, was curiously resistant. 3: Some Problems Of Modern Life - Adrian struggles with his fail-safe electronic organiser, forgets his telephone banking password and has his car towed away. 4: My Sister Rosie - Rosie has taken up with a hideous-looking youth called Aaron Michelwaite. 5: Pensioners - Featuring Bert Baxter, Leicester's oldest and most objectionable man - a communist with an unstable Alsatian called Sabre. WOMAN'S HOUR DRAMA10:45am Weekdays (Rptd at 7:45pm); Individual synopses where available (1999-01-01) Under One Roof Pt2 (Michele Hanson) (Pt5 in 1999) w/Janet Maw, Edna Dore and Luisa Bradshaw-White - No synopsis. (1999-01-04 to 08) Under One Roof Pt3 (Michele Hanson, adap Mike Walker, dir Marilyn Imrie) w/Janet Maw, Edna Dore and Luisa Bradshaw-White - No synopsis. (1999-01-11 to 22) Lady Susan (Jane Austen, adap Lavinia Murray, dir Jocelyn Boxall) w/Harriet Walter and Maggie Steed - Lady Susan Vernon, a beautiful society widow decides to visit her brother-in-law. Will she be a welcome guest? Her friend Alicia Johnson narrates her story. (1999-01-25 to 29) Inner Voices (wri/perf Rikkie Beadle Blair, dir Jeremy Mortimer) - No synopsis. 1: Fares Fair, w/Karl Collins. 2: Finders Keepers, w/David Squire. 3: Puppy Love, w/Aiden Harvey and Dee-Dee Samuels. 4: Silly Me, w/Frances Lima. 5: Open Pores, w/Helen Sheals. (1999-02-01 to 12) Speaking For Themselves: The Personal Letters Of Winston & Clementine Churchill (ed Mary Soames) w/Alex Jennings as Winston, Sylvestra le Touzel as Clementine, and Helen Bourne as the narrator - Ten dramatised excerpts from the letters of Britain's great wartime leader and his wife Clementine, taken from the newly published collection edited by their daughter. (1999-02-15 to 03-26) The Cry Of The Bittern (Tim Jackson, dir Peter Leslie Wild) w/Rachel Atkins, Ian Pepperell, Kelly Hunter and Sean Baker - An environmental drama. Laura applies for a job in Norfolk and explores her relationship with her fiance Dean. (1999-03-29 to 04-02) High Days, Holy Days (various, read by Charlotte Cornwell, Denys Hawthorne, Kathryn Hunt, Leo McKern and Leslie Phillips) - A selection of readings for Easter. 1: The problem of fixing the date, spending Easter away from home, customs in Europe and the Easter Parade, as related by Pepys, Chekhov, Oscar Wilde and others. 2: Getting away for the Easter holidays, the family arriving, Easter bunnies and the weather, as related by Barbara Castle, Dickens, Tony Benn and Lewis Carroll. 3: Easter Eggs. From the paschal egg to the Faberge egg, from pace-egg rolling in Newcastle to the lawns of The White House. As related by Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce and Pope Pius V among others. 4: `Maundy Thursday'. The day of the big porridge, Maundy money and Easter during the war, as related by Anne Frank, Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh and George Bernard Shaw among others. 5: Good Friday. New clothes, hot cross buns, hiding away in a monastery and friends for tea, as related by Vera Brittain, Boswell, Kilvert and Virginia Woolf. (1999-04-05 to 23) Diary Of A Provincial Lady (E M Delafield, dram Jane Rogers, dir Clive Brill) w/Imelda Staunton, Richard Hope and Susan Brown - The everyday 1930s journal of how to run a house, a husband, a cook, a nanny, two children, bothersome neighbours, irritating relatives, and still manage to keep your sanity and your green fingers. (1999-04-26 to 30) Postcards - Flotsam & Jetsam (Nick Darke) w/Carl Grose, Diana Berriman and Mike Shepherd 1: Sue Cattran, who runs the cafe in Porthant Bay, Cornwall, prepares herself for the autumn, when her teenage son Paul leaves home. 2: Karen, a professional beachcomber, has found an extraordinary archive of Porthant Bay in Sue's attic. 3: Neil and Sue Cattran meet to talk about their son's future. With Diana Berriman and Mike Shepherd 4: Paul and his mother are at loggerheads about his future. 5: Paul makes a decision about his future, which brings his father's domestic crisis to a head. (1999-05-03 to 07) Postcards Partial Eclipse (Charlotte Jones, dir Jonquil Panting) w/Alison Pettitt, Tristan Sturrock.and Becky Hindley 1: A return to the Porthant Bay Hotel, Cornwall, where Martin is brainstorming the biggest tourist event of the year. Mandy plans a little reunion of her own. 2: Mandy has picked up a pilgrim. Martin suffers a brainstorm. With Alison Pettitt and Becky Hindley. 3: With still no word from Tilson, will Mandy find better vibes on the path to Cornish enlightenment? With Alison Pettitt and Paul Bazely. 4: Old friends are reunited - unfortunately for some. With Alison Pettitt and 5: Mandy finds a new direction. (1999-05-10 to 14) Postcards Now You See It, Now You Don't (Jonathan Holloway, dir David Hunter) w/Tristan Sturrock, Alison Pettitt and Russell Boulter 1: Andy returns to Porthant Bay smitten both with glamorous South African Jennie and with their new surf-board venture. 2: Andy's business partner Jennie arouses suspicions. 3: When the new surfboards arrive, Tilson uncovers a sinister connection. 4: The surfboard venture fails and Jennie beats a hasty retreat. 5: While Mandy and Thomas reach for the clouds, Andy is brought firmly back to earth. (1999-05-17 to 21; Rpt) The Nation's Favourite Love Poetry - An Anthology Of Love Poetry - read by Dame Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Paul Rhys and Charlotte Attenborough. (1999-05-24 to 28) Volunteers (Donna Franceschild and Simon Little, dir Bill Bryden) w/Ken Cranham and Emma Fielding - Four people ring the Samaritans to find the volunteers have a sympathetic ear, which brings comfort, hope and often hilarity into this most dramatic of situations. (1999-05-31 to 06-18) South Riding (Winifred Holtby, dram Gill Adams, dir Melanie Harris) w/Sarah Lancashire, Carole Boyd and Philip Glenister - Sarah Burton returns to the South Riding to take up a challenging new post. to 07-02) Stories For Olga (Anton Chekhov, dram Olwen Wymark, dir Alison Hindell) w/David Haig, Clare Holman and Andrew Wincott - July 1902. The playwright Chekhov is already famous for his short stories. When his wife, Olga Knipper, needs diversion during a convalescence, he decides to read some to her. (1999-06-21 to 07-02) Stories For Olga (Anton Chekhov, dram Olwen Wymark, dir Alison Hindell) w/David Haig, Clare Holman and Andrew Wincott - July 1902. The playwright Chekhov is already famous for his short stories. When his wife, Olga Knipper, needs diversion during a convalescence, he decides to read some to her. (1999-07-05 to 09) If Only - Five stories of love, marriage and family by Irish women writers, to mark the passionately contested introduction of divorce to Eire. 1: Taxi Men Are Invisible (Maeve Binchy, dram Alun Richards) Listening to passengers in the back of his cab, Eddie finds the divorce debate enacted in real lives. 2: The Facts Of Life (Katy Hayes, read by Diane O'Kelly) Dierdre is eleven, too young to be told the facts of life by her 13-year-old friends. So she goes to a dance to find out for herself. 3: Lucy's Story (Mary Maher, read by Sinead Cusack & Brett O'Brien) Lucy is totally useless as a helper in the women's centre. She is giggly, shallow, forgetful and in awe of her husband. Yet her pretty surface hides a secret. 4: Ellie's Ring (Sheila Barrett) There is a new craze at school - eloping to Oklahoma to get married. At sixteen, Jane-Anne is going to do this on Saturday. 5: Son, Moon & Stars (Jennifer Johnston, dram Ruth Symes) Kate's ailing grandmother cannot keep a secret, so the child discovers that she is no longer the only love in her father's life. (1999-07-12 to 23) Silk (Alessandro Baricco, dram Lavinia Murray, trans Guido Waldman) A French silk merchant travels to Japan and falls in love with a woman whose voice he has never even heard. At home his wife thinks only of him and weaves her own tapestry of love and desire. With Alex Jennings, Deborah Findlay and David Burke. Director Marilyn Imrie. (1999-07-26 to 08-06) Speaking For Themselves Series 2 - The personal letters of Winston and Clementine Churchill, edited by their daughter Mary Soames. Alex Jennings and Sylvestra le Touzel continue reading letters from one of the great romances of the century. Narrated by Helen Bourne and abridged by Penny Leicester. (1999-08-09 to 13) Eclipse 1999 - Astronomer Heather Couper introduces five readings of poetry, prose and diary extracts to mark the end of the millennium. Read by Denys Hawthorne, Mona Hammond, Lisa Eichorn, Derek Griffiths, Amanda Root and Patrick Moore (on Episode 4). 1: Words are provided by sun worshippers such as Queen Victoria, Emily Dickinson, Malcolm Muggeridge and Oscar Wilde. 2: Readings focusing on sunset, from writers as diverse as John Ruskin, George Eliot and Mitsuhashi Takajo. 3: Readings focusing on solar eclipses, from sources such as John Milton, the Bible and Dorothy Sabin. 4: Readings focusing on the moon, from sources as diverse as Mark Twain, Mary Shelley, Li Pai and James Joyce. 5: Readings focusing on lunar eclipses, from accounts from such writers as Aristophanes, Plutarch, Shakespeare and Simon Callow. (1999-08-16 to 20) The Surprise Summer (Jonathan Holloway) With Stephen Critchlow and Tracy Wiles. Director David Hunter. 1: When ex-teacher John Hunter takes his one-man show to the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe, he finds a tacky venue, a perky technician and a beautiful barmaid. 2: Ex-teacher John Hunter takes his one-man show to the Edinburgh Fringe. 3: John's show is riding high on the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe, but his love affair with Carrie hits an unexpected storm. 4: Despite the runaway success of his show, things take a dive for John at the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe. 5: On the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe John is forced to confront the realities of a treacherous manager and a finite love affair - but there is no turning back now. (1999-08-23 to 09-10) Fire In The Heart - John Keats's poems and letters, adapted and reconstructed by Robin Brooks, provide a fascinating and moving insight into the heart and mind of a great poet. With David Tennant, John Webb and Nigel Cook. Director Clive Brill. (1999-09-13 to 10-08) Vital Signs (Sarah Woods: 1-5, 11-15, Peter Straughan: 6-10, 16-20) With Rachel Davies, Gillian Hanna and Derek Walmsley. Director Kate Rowland: 1-10, Toby Swift: 11-20. 1: Monday. Carol Weaver, chief executive of the Nightingale NHS Trust, balances a difficult home life with complex issues of millennium planning. Diane in neonatal is complaining about the lack of resources. John has something to tell her. 2: Tuesday. Local MP Matthew Evans is on a routine walkabout with a message from his constituents. Carol has more important priorities to deal with. 3: Wednesday. Carol has to deal with Dr Roach's request for a cath-lab. A surprise call from 70-year-old Albert puts it all into perspective. 4: Thursday. A difficult union meeting dealing with millennium pay is followed by the first official complaint in the Ruddle case. 5: Friday. The medical director and Carol begin the investigation into the death of the Ruddle baby. 6: Monday. Carol learns that one of her consultants has been lobbying the chairman of the board regarding a bid for a new cath-lab. She is furious. 7: Tuesday. Diane is critical of Carol's support for the neonatal bid for extra equipment - and in light of the death of the Ruddle baby is particularly disappointed. 8: Wednesday. Carol finds it increasingly difficult to get the balance right between home life and work. 9: Thursday. Carol and the director of nursing review a complaint about an agency nurse which highlights the problems of staff shortages. 10: Friday. The hospital carries out a Major Incident Test to try out their procedures in dealing with an emergency in readiness for the millennium. 11: Monday. Carol is in the firing line at home and at work. All is not well with the medical unit, and a journalist asks some tricky questions. 12: Tuesday. The Ruddles visit the hospital to pursue their complaint. Tensions are running high now that the case has hit the headlines. 13: Wednesday. The Nightingale has some unusual visitors. Carol gives her PA a helping hand, and Ed offers a sympathetic ear. 14: Thursday. Carol gets to the bottom of a problem at home but back at the Nightingale, answers are harder to come by. 15: Friday. The director of nursing is spoiling for a fight. The `Brief Lives' memorial for children who have died at the hospital gives Carol food for thought. 16: Monday. Another damning press article forces Carol to take decisive action. Stephen brings unsettling news, and Finn returns, keen to start afresh. 17: Tuesday. The inquiry into the Ruddles case prompts some frank discussion. Tempers reach boiling point in A & E. 18: Wednesday. Carol and the chairman have to consider the safety of the staff. Finn has arranged a surprise, and Sean demands a meeting. 19: Thursday. Mr Kristoff takes matters into his own hands. Carol delivers an ultimatum but gets more than she bargained for. 20: Friday. The Ruddle case reaches its conclusion, but for Carol there are other difficult decisions to be made. (1999-10-11 to 22) Ladies Of More Letters (Lou Wakefield & Carole Hayman) With Patricia Routledge, Prunella Scales, Christopher Kelham and Fiona Clarke. Director Claire Grove. 1: Routledge and Scales dip their pens in the pot of vitriol once again as the happily widowed Vera Small and Irene Spencer who are reunited at the funeral of an old flame. 2: Vera's antics on the dance floor have tested her friend's patience to the limit, but Irene is determined that their correspondence will continue. 3: Vera starts a new life in a caravan, but Irene's version of their past is a continuing irritation. 4: Irene visits her daughter in Australia, while Vera's daughter moves in. 5: Irene delights in getting Vera's family news first and sending it to her from the other side of the world. 6: Crossed wires and frayed tempers mark the correspondence of Irene Spencer and Vera Small, but Irene offers an apology in verse. 7: While in Australia, Vera fights for custody of her grandchild. Irene is sent to a clinic by her daughter. 8: As their daughters get together in Australia, Irene discovers the cause of her breakdown and Vera revels in a second chance at motherhood. 9: Irene sends news from Australia that Vera is a grandmother again. But who is the father? 10: Vera and her granddaughter escape from the trailer park and Irene discovers that she is about to become a grandmother again. (1999-10-25 to 12-03) Nicholas Nickleby (Charles Dickens, dram Mike Walker) With Oliver Milburn, Alex Jennings and Richard Johnson. Directors Jeremy Mortimer & Marilyn Imrie. 1: Following the death of his father, Nicholas is found a position as assistant to Wackford Squeers at Dotheboy's Hall in Yorkshire. 6: Kate begins work at the Mantalini establishment and encounters Sir Mulberry Hawk and Lord Verisopht. Nicholas and Smike return to London to discover that vicious lies from Dotheboys Hall have already reached Ralph Nickleby. 11: Nicholas and Smike leave London to seek their fortunes, and find themselves in the company of Mr Vincent Crummles, actor. Meanwhile, Kate suffers further advances from the odious Sir Mulberry Hawk. 16: Nicholas is befriended by the Cheerbyle brothers. He finds employment, saves Smike from the clutches of Ralph and his henchmen, and falls in love with a mysterious young woman. 21: Nicholas fails to reveal to the Cheerybles his true feelings for Madeline Bray, and there is a frightful plot to marry Miss Bray off to wizened old Arthur Gride. 26: The truth about Madeline Bray's inheritance is discovered; Smike reveals the secrets of his heart; Ralph faces the bitter truth at the heart of his life; and Nicholas, Kate and Mrs Nickleby all achieve their heart's desire. (1999-12-06 to 10) Her Infinite Variety (Juliet Ace) Five modern plays for Shakespeare's women. Directors Ned Chaillet & Sarah Brown. 1: Writing To Veronica - Faced with parental disapproval of the boy of her choice, a young Juliet of today at least has the internet and agony aunt Veronica. Starring Eleanor Moriarty as Juliet. 2: Talking To My Shrink - Confronted by the increasingly maddening (and mad) behaviour of her boyfriend, a 90s Ophelia discusses the nature of insanity with her psychotherapist. With Gemma Saunders and Gavin Muir. 3: Diary Of A Dutiful Daughter - Faced with a doddering dad and a nursing home she runs as a business, what can a modern Goneril do but offer him the box room? Which is more than Sister Cordelia of the Salvation Army has to give. Starring Anna Massey as Goneril. 4: And All That Jazz - Count Orso offers a modern Viola a spectacular `Twelfth Night', with a wardrobe beyond most cross-dressers' dreams. Starring Bette Bourne as Vi. 5: Dirty Linen - Everyone thought Rooky would tame the shrewish Cat, but 20 years on their tempestuous marriage is played out in a national newspaper. With Elizabeth Bell and Oliver Cotton. (1999-12-13 to 31) Georgiana, Duchess Of Devonshire (Amanda Foreman, dram Jennifer Curry) With Juliet Aubrey, Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Maggie Steed, Emelia Fox and John Rowe. Directors: Cherry Cookson and Janet Whitaker. 1: Society Wedding, 1774 - In the late 18th century, Georgiana Spencer married into the powerful Duke of Devonshire's family and became the most celebrated woman of her age. 2: Virgin Bride, 1774. 3: Fashion's Favourite, 1775. 4: School for Scandal, 1777. 5: The Minister of Macaroni, 1777. 6: Queen Bess, 1778 - From exile in Italy, Georgiana looks back on the war with France and on infidelities and infertility in her own unhappy marriage. 7: A Passionate Politician, 1783. 8: A Woman of Great Importance, 1784. 9: Menage a Trois, 1784. 10: The Vortex of Dissipation. 11: True Love, 1790 - At long last Georgiana has produced a son and heir, but her unhappy marriage leads to exile when she falls in love with Charles Grey. 12: Exile, 1792. 13: A New Beginning, 1792. 14: The Death of Beauty, 1796. 15: The Final Triumph, 1800. ONE-OFF PLAYS(1999-04-04; 8:00pm; Rpt) The Irish Play (Michael Butt, dir Peter Kavanagh) w/Freddie Jones and Dillie Keane - A long forgotten English playwright cashes in on the vogue for Irish drama by resetting his old Essex plays in Kerry. (1999-05-31; 8:45pm) Hands Across The Sea (Noel Coward, adap Malcolm McKee, dir Sue Wilson) w/Stephanie Beacham and Michael Cochrane - Set in 1935, Noel Coward's frothy cocktail catches the cream of London society in a mad whirl. Piggie and Peter Gilpin find themselves receiving tedious and unwanted visitors and are determined not to endure them alone. (1999-05-31; 9:20pm) Shadow Play (Noel Coward, adap Malcolm McKee, dir Sue Wilson) w/Julia Watson and Steven Pacey - Vicky and Simon Gayforth's love has been utterly romantic, but as society intrudes on their idyll, can their marriage withstand the assault? Coward's surreal musical dream play takes wit and sentiment to the brink of madness. (1999-06-02; 11:30am) The Table (Alison Spritzler) Residents of a shared house go berserk when a couple move an old table into the communal hallway.... With Lorelei King as Janet, Robert Bathurst as Quintin and Tom Watt as Paul. Director Peter Kavanagh. (1999-06-09; 11:30am; Rpt) Split Ends (Susie Maguire) A comedy drama set in the glamorous but gritty world of Glaswegian hairdressing, where junior stylist Mercedes Smith is just starting work at the prestigious Salon Clyde. With Sarah Gudgeon, Alison Peebles and Joanne Bett. (1999-06-27; 12:15am) Experimental Feature: Write Out Loud - A lover's breathing, a night in the desert, packed trains and mellow jazz - sound and memories fuse together in these three short works created by writers new to radio. With the support of the Arts Council of England. `While You Were Sleeping' by Jon McGregor, `Habibi Habibti' by Frances Liardet and `16 Sounds My Father Never Heard' by Struan Sinclair. (NB: Possible drama entry in the arts strand.) (1999-11-17; Wed 11:30am) Supermarket Kisses (Mark Tuohy) Carol's birthday is a night to remember when Tom, the trolley pusher, leads the party on a night raid to the supermarket. With Anita Dobson, Paul Bradley and Alison Pettitt. Director Claire Grove. (1999-11-17; Wed 11:00pm) Is There Anything You'd Like to Ask Us? (Ben Moor) A cautionary comic tale of mastering interview techniques and spotting potentially lunatic flatmates. Starring Ben Moor and Tracy Wiles. Director Sally Avens. (1999-12-25; Sat 11:00am) Aladdin - The story of Aladdin, his magic lamp and his mother's laundry is retold in thrilling detail. With Terry Jones, Clive Anderson and Penelope Keith. (NB: Unknown is this is drama, comedy or documentary.) (1999-12-26; Sun 2:30pm) Season's Greetings (Alan Ayckbourn, adap Vanessa Rosenthal) Christmas is the season of good cheer and harmony among men, but things are not quite working out that way in the Bunker household. It is Christmas Eve. A motley collection of friends and relative fill the house with their own wishes, dreams and attitudes. The stage is set for seasonal disharmony and romantic intrigue. With Geoffrey Palmer, Frances Barber, Bill Nighy and John Sessions. Director: Polly Thomas. DRAMA/COMEDY-DRAMA SERIES(1999-05-24 to 06-28) Thrush Green (Miss Read, dram Lesley Bruce, dir Claire Grove) w/Adam Godley, Anna Massey and Maggie McCarthy. 1: Doctor Lovell - I remember the day I arrived in Thrush Green. It was the annual spring fair. A young doctor comes to the Cotswolds village. 2: Charles Henstock - Charles has a difficult decision to make in the peaceful Cotswolds village. 3: Albert Piggott - The church sexton finds unexpected romance in the peaceful Cotswolds village. 4: Miss Fogerty - A village schoolteacher faces the challenge of a lifetime in the peaceful Cotswolds village. 5: Dotty Harmer - Dotty Harmer faces a trial in the weekly visit to the peaceful Cotswolds village. 6: Dimity Dean - Dimity finds love in the peaceful Cotswolds village. (1999-06-18 to 07-23; Fri 11:30am) Ballylenon - Series 6 (Chris Fitz-Simons) Comedy drama series set in 50s rural Ireland. With T P McKenna, Margaret D'Arcy, Stella McCusker and Aine McCartney. Director Peter Kavanagh. 1: Will guard Gallacher brave the toothsome Napper Tandy and return to the McConkey sisters' lodgings? 2: Phonsie looks forward to the rich profits Guard Gallacher's singing trip to New York will generate for Ballylenon and himself. But what new mania has overtaken Muriel? 3: Guard Gallagher's song has been accepted by the Irish chapter of the New York police department social club for their song competition. But who will accompany him to Manhattan? 4: Ballylenon awaits news of Guard Gallagher's performance in New York. Meanwhile the Hawthornes fret about their declining congregation. 5: Following Guard Gallagher's successful performance in New York, Phonsie has lured back a woman tourist executive to promote the town. How will Muriel react? With T P McKenna, Margaret D'Arcy and Stella McCusker. Director Peter Kavanagh. 6: The last in the series answers some major questions. Do Muriel's visions bode prosperity? Will the Hawthornes remain? Will Phonsie find romance, and with whom? How will Muriel react? (1999-07-05 to 08-02; Mon 11:30am) Sketches By Boz (Charles Dickens, dram Stephen Wyatt) Five comic stories about London life. Director Sally Avens. 1: Love & Oysters - David Calder stars as John Dounce, whose orderly life is disrupted on acquaintance with an oyster. With Nicholas Farrell and Samantha Spiro. 2: The Steam Excursion - Mr Percy Noakes was a friend to all until the organisation of a river trip proved his undoing. With Nicholas Farrell, Marston Bloom and Shirley Dixon. 3: Sentiment - The arrival of an MP's daughter at Miss Crumpton's finishing school seems a cause for celebration until a romantic attachment comes to light. With Nicholas Farrell, Jane Booker and Patience Tomlinson. 4: The Boarding House - Imelda Staunton stars as Mrs Tibbs, the owner of a most respectable boarding house, until the arrival of a mysterious new lodger. With Nicholas Farrell, Annette Badland and Christopher Hancock. 5: Horatio Sparkins - The socially ambitious Maldertons are delighted when their unmarried daughter receives the attentions of the romantic Mr Sparkins. But who exactly is he? With Nicholas Farrell, David Haig and Julian Rhind Tutt. (1999-08-09 to 09-06; Mon 11:30am) A Murder Is Announced (Agatha Christie, dram Michael Bakewell) Starring June Whitfield as Miss Marple. With Ian Lavender, Graham Crowden, Sarah Lawson, Elizabeth Bell and Judy Cornwell. Director: Enyd Williams. 1: The residents of Chipping Cleghorn are agog to discover that they have been invited to a murder. Surely it must be a game? 2: The invitation was not a game after all, and the intruder has been shot dead - though the intended victim was clearly someone else. 3: There seems little doubt that the intended victim was Miss Blacklock. There are fears that a second attempt will be made on her life. 4: As everyone realises that the poison was meant for Miss Blacklock, not Dora Bunner, suspicion begins to fall on the members of the household. 5: A further murder has been committed, but just as Miss Marple is piecing her thoughts together - she disappears. (1999-08-16 to 20; Weekdays 3:30pm) Fringe Fictions - Five comic stories from the Pleasance Cabaret Bar in Edinburgh. 1:Angela Makes Her Mark (Patricia Hannah, read by Vivienne Dixon) Angela Strang? I have not seen her for ages - not since the incident at the opening of the Scottish Parliament. 2:The Rambler (wri/perf Johnny Meres) It is Tuesday out on Bobbington Moor - and time for a surreal meander through the countryside in the company of the local radio station's roving rural expert. 3:Bus Stop (Penelope Lively, read by Irene MacDougall) A passenger on the No 73 bus is taken aback when she recognises the strangely distinguished-looking conductor. 4:A Shocking Accident (Graham Greene, read byCrawford Logan) Bad news is hard to cope with. But, as Jerome discovers when called to his housemaster's study, it is even harder when the news is ridiculous as well. 5: The Turn Of The Native (wri/perf Kate Copstick) A mercenary Edinburgh landlady offers a resident's acerbic observations on the city's annual festival (1999-08-25 to 10-29; Wed 11:30am) Stockport... So Good They Named It Once (Jim Poyser & Damian Lanigan) A five-part (sic) comedy drama following the lives of the Conroys, a family living in Stockport. With Dominic Monaghan, Beverley Callard and Jason McArdle. 1: Barbie - Eddie needs a loan to start up his own taxi business. Jason needs a better school report. 2: The Agony & The Ecstacy - Gran is losing her legs, and Eddie is trying not to lose his patience... or his fare to Gay Pride. 3: Dib Dib Dib - Jason has to face life without Debbie. Can Michael and the Sweater Girls' first gig take his mind off being single? 4: Lights - Eddie scores tickets to Stockport County's biggest match ever. An even greater challenge faces his son-in-law Dave. Featuring Alan Green. 5: Focus - Dave gets his new company car and Karen brings home a potential new member of the family. With Chris Pavlo. 6: Organathon - Eddie goes for the English record for continuous playing, while Jason receives a mysterious letter. (1999-09-13 to 10-04; Mon 11:30am) Monsignor Quixote (Graham Greene, dram Rene Basilico) With Bernard Cribbins and Michael Mellinger. 1: Padre Quixote meets a bishop, becomes a Monsignor and sets out on his travels through Spain. 2: A question of faith, shopping in Madrid, and a brush with the law. 3: The monsignor discovers that life outside his parish is not exactly what he imagined. (1999-09-16 to 10-; Thur 11:30pm; Rpt) Nemesis (Agatha Christie, dram Michael Bakewell) Starring June Whitfield as Miss Marple. With George A Cooper, Jill Balcon and Geoffrey Whitehead. Director Enyd Williams. 1: A dead man's wishes involve Miss Marple in the ultimate mystery tour. 2: The late Mr Rafiel's son appears to be connected to the mystery. With David Swift, Louie Ramsay, Thelma Barlow and Mary Wimbush. Director Enyd Williams. 3: Crucial information has come to light, but an ally has been seriously injured. With David Swift, Louie Ramsay and Thelma Barlow. Director Enyd Williams. (1999-09-13 to 10-04; Mon 11:30am) Monsignor Quixote (Graham Greene, dram Rene Basilico) With Bernard Cribbins and Michael Mellinger. 1: Padre Quixote meets a bishop, becomes a Monsignor and sets out on his travels through Spain. 2: A question of faith, shopping in Madrid, and a brush with the law. 3: The monsignor discovers that life outside his parish is not exactly what he imagined. 4: An uncomfortable tete-a-tete with his Bishop leads to the Monsignor's final adventure. (1999-09-16 to 10-14; Thur 11:30pm; Rpt) Nemesis (Agatha Christie, dram Michael Bakewell) Starring June Whitfield as Miss Marple. With George A Cooper, Jill Balcon, Geoffrey Whitehead, David Swift, Desmond Llewelyn, Louie Ramsay, Thelma Barlow and Mary Wimbush. Director Enyd Williams. 1: A dead man's wishes involve Miss Marple in the ultimate mystery tour. 2: The late Mr Rafiel's son appears to be connected to the mystery. 3: Crucial information has come to light, but an ally has been seriously injured. 4: The bewildered recollections of an elderly clergyman prove to be of vital importance. 5: Before she can resolve the mystery of a brutal murder, Miss Marple must put herself in great danger. (1999-10-22 to 11-05; Fri 11:30am) Jerusalem (Simon Armitage) Comedy drama set in the fictional Yorkshire village of Jerusalem. With Colin Welland, Tom Bell, Brigit Forsyth and Julian Kerridge. Director Pauline Harris. 1: John Edward Castle is confined to his bedroom and communicates with the village via his home-made transmitting device - Radio Castle. When the chance to stand as entertainment secretary at the social club arises, he feels confident of success. 2: One week to polling day and a special election debate soon turns to debacle as the entertainment secretary candidates battle it out. But can love win the day? 3: It is polling day and Bonfire Night, and love is in the air. Votes have been secured through questionable tactics. When the result is declared, winner takes all - or does he? (1999-11-15 to 12-; Mon 11:30am; Rpt ) Evil Under The Sun (Agatha Christie, dram Michael Bakewell) With John Moffatt, Fiona Fullerton, Robin Ellis, George Baker, Sabina Franklyn and Iain Glen. Director Enyd Williams. 1: Hercule Poirot allows himself to be tempted by a holiday at the English seaside and soon senses the presence of evil on Smugglers' Island. 2: A shadow has fallen across Hercule Poirot's summer holiday - and murder is in the air. 3: The gentle English sunshine of Hercule Poirot's holiday has been darkened by a violent death. 4: Hercule Poirot and Colonel Weston are beginning to discover some possible reasons for the brutal murder of Arlena Marshall. 5: Hercule Poirot must fit each of the clues into its correct place - a delicate task for the grey cells. (1999-11-18 to 12-23; Thur 6:30pm) In The End (Mark Tavener) Satirical comedy thriller stars Michael Williams as George Cragge and Barry Foster as Supt Frank Jefferson. With Stephen Fry, Jonathan Coy and Anton Rodgers. 1: George attends the funeral of a journalist friend who has supposedly committed suicide. Shortly afterwards a second journalist dies, and this time it is unquestionably murder. George and his friend Superintendent Jefferson are back with a serial killer on their hands. 2: Cragge and Jefferson look for the murderer among the people who have been victims of major exposes by journalists. Meanwhile, the PM's depression is lifting, thanks to the return of his chief spin doctor, Marcia Mallon. Lord Crichton, chairman of the BBC, decides to rid the corporation of unnecessary managers. 3: Tension mounts when the serial killer claims a third victim. As the evidence grows, Supt Jefferson is convinced that celebrity chef Coco St Martin is the journalist killer. Meanwhile, the PM takes a winter skiing holiday, leaving Marcia to keep an eye on the Chancellor. 4: Rupert Thresher arouses Cragge's suspicion as the hunt for the journalist killer continues. Meanwhile, the PM is once again depressed as his approval rating falls below 50 per cent for the first time. 5: As another journalist falls victim to the serial killer, it becomes chillingly clear to George that the murders have a sinister connection with himself. Meanwhile, at the hands of Charles and Martin, BBC bureaucrats are dropping like flies. 6: George is convinced that he is the murderer's next target, but can he find the killer before it is too late? And could the Prime Minister be thinking about handing over the reins? (1999-12-10 to 17; Fri 11:30am) Two Handers 1: Love & The Art Of War (Michael Butt) Chinese martial arts teacher Su Li falls for timid student Donald. But how can she woo him when she has got to bash him around? With Douglas Hodge and Su-Lin Looi. Director: Peter Kavanagh. 2: Doreen's Chair (Nick Warburton) Timid Bobby lets his wife Doreen dictate every aspect of home decor. Then he discovers feng shui. With Peter Sallis and Gillian Barge. Director: Peter Kavanagh. (1999-12-14 to 21; Tues 11:00am) A Pint, A Pie & A Song - At this time of year in the west Yorkshire village of Marsden, a group of men get together to put on an all-male pantomime. The programmes follow the making of `Beau Geste, or The Camel Strikes Back' from first rehearsals to costume fittings, dance routines and the opening night. With Peter Armitage, Doreen France and Nigel Haigh. (NB: I presume this is a dramatic/comedic work as it stars named actors, though there are no writer/director credits. They were combined for a 'revised repeat' on Christmas Day.) (1999-12-21 to 24; Tues-Fri 11:30am) Mrs Pepperpot (Alf Proysen, dram Lavinia Murray) The adventures of Mrs Pepperpot, the incredible shrinking woman who always seems to be in trouble. With Alison Steadman, Geoff Hinsliff and Jane Cawdron. Director: Melanie Harris. 1: She swims through snow, rides on a cat and falls inside a talking horse. 2: Tiny Mrs Pepperpot gets into all kinds of trouble today at the Christmas market, including falling inside a baked potato. Rescued by Ronan Kitten, she decides to grow full size again with the help of helium gas. 3: Mrs Pepperpot's long-lost sister arrives from America with a huge handbag. It comes in very useful when Mrs Pepperpot unexpectedly shrinks to the size of a doll and needs somewhere to hide. 4: Mrs Pepperpot sets off to the supermarket on top of Mr Pepperpot's hat. They find themselves bringing home a bionic baby who causes no end of trouble. (1999-12-26 to 31; Weekdays 11:30am) Ballet Shoes (Noel Streatfeild, adap Ellen Dryden) With Rosemary Leach, Alexandra Mathie, Victoria Shalet and John Ringham. Director: Don Taylor. 1: Great Uncle Matthew is always bringing Sylvia strange and exotic finds from his archaeological expeditions, but nobody could ever have expected that he would send her not one but three babies. 2: The three Fossil children are having trouble living up to their vow to make their name famous, especially as the money for an education cannot be found. Then help comes from an unexpected source. 3: Pauline, Petrova and Posy are now enrolled at the Children's Academy of Dancing. Pauline and Posy adore the school, but Petrova is less happy, especially when she is given an acting role she cannot possibly play. 4: Pauline's licence has arrived, and she is finally old enough to be engaged as a professional actress. But her first audition makes it clear that she is by no means the academy's most talented student. 5: Pauline's career continues to flourish, and she is now joined at auditions by the reluctant Petrova. Posy is offered the opportunity of a lifetime, but will she be able to take it? ONE-OFF READINGS(1999-01-01; 3:45pm) Lullaby For An Insomniac Princess (Marina Warner, read by Juliet Stevenson) To sleep perchance to dream. But not for Princess Imogen, who cannot sleep and yearns for this magical experience. (1999-10-15; Fri 11:30am) A Crumb Of Comfort (Roger Hammond) Miriam Margolyes stars as a nightmarish hospital visitor in this comic and touching monologue written for her by Hammond. RADIO POEM4:30pm Irregular Sundays (1999-01-03) Voluspa, The Sibyl's Prophecy (Hermann palsson, adap/perf Kathleen Jamie) w/Sonia Ritter - Apocalypse then and now - a poem of the first millennium translated from Old Norse. (1999-03-28) A Drink Of Glass (Lavinia Greenlaw) A specially commissioned new poem written and recorded in the northern darkness of a winter's day high in the Finnish Arctic. THE LATE STORY12:30am Saturday/Sunday Nights (1999-01-02) Playing The Part (Deborah Maggoch, read by Josie Lawrence) A weekend of Moggach stories begins with a witty tale about a house-sitting that goes disastrously wrong. (1999-01-03) Hot Tickets (Deborah Maggoch, read by Josie Lawrence) I have always liked neurotic men. I can spot one across a crowded room. They look so unhappy; I always want to rescue them. (1999-01-09) The Fall (Linda Cracknell, read by Ann Scott Jones) A husband and wife go hill walking - and cross a Rubicon. (1999-01-10) Visitors (Leila Aboulela, read by Adjoa Andoh) A doctor in Sudan discovers there are essentials that money cannot buy. (1999-01-16) Mabbo (Ruth Thomas, read by Jenny Ryan) A school bully gets his comeuppance in a German conversation class. (1999-01-17) Taking Care Of Big Brother (Michel Faber, read by Sarah Gudgeon) With their parents out of the house, a nine-year-old girl and her sibling spend Saturday night surfing the world of satellite television. (1999-01-23) The Pear (Raymond Soltysek, read by Billy Boyd) In 1930's Paisley, life is a struggle against poverty and hunger. Jamie Davidson is a streetwise teenager whose political and literary awareness is both a surprise and a threat to his teachers and their authority. (1999-01-24) A Trick Of The Light (Herbert Williams, read by Nicky Thompson) Sonya, a successful artist, is haunted by a recurring dream - a woman standing under an archway. Who is she? (1999-01-30) Spinach Seduction (Tamar Hodes, read by Geraldine Fitzgerald) Until she goes to university, Anna has never experienced the delight of green vegetables. But then she meets Luciano. Will his organic orgies seduce Anna, or will she tire of his routines? (1999-01-31) Famous In Lands Unknown (Gillian Tindall, read by Caroline Hunt) Old Jane Morton lies dying, her beloved sister at her bedside. The two women are locked into a secret enmity that has shadowed their lives for 70 years. (1999-02-06) My Son, The Bird (Tamar Hodes, read by Carolyn Backhouse) All Annie had wanted was a normal son, yet somehow she manages to come to terms with Frank's frequent changes from boy to bird - as long as he keeps it their secret. (1999-02-07) Love Among The Branches (Tamar Hodes, read by Jenny Funnell) As a single parent and a struggling artist, Milly never thinks she will meet the right man. But then Richard arrives to build a treehouse for her son Harry, and Milly finds romance - in the tree. (1999-02-13) This Thing Of Darkness (wri/read by Kit Wright) It is common for boys to spend their Saturday mornings helping out at some workplace. Roy was drawn to the premises of R V Harvey and Son, Funeral Directors. (1999-02-14) The Mermayde's Tale (Joe Hollins, read by Celia Imrie) A woman seeks healing; a fisherman, faith; and a mermaid, a man. Will they all find what they seek? (1999-02-20) Painting Juliet (Catherine Merriman, read by Andy Rivers) Juliet's boyfriend is an artist, but he has never wanted to paint her portrait. Why does he change his mind? (1999-02-21) The Other Woman (David Cunningham, read by Tom McGovern) In the aftermath of his father's death, a young man receives a call from an unknown woman. (1999-02-27) Glacial (Catherine Johnson, read by Mirain Haf Roberts) Baby Dylan spends only a brief time with his family, but he is truly loved by them all. (1999-02-28) Heritage Road (Clare Morgan, read by Rachel Atkins) After her parents' deaths, Ella's uncle Beat took her to America and filled her imagination with exotic sights and stories. (1999-03-06; Rpt) Doolan's Daughter (Frank Dunne, read by Ronan Wilmot) An Irishman remembers his childhood, in particular the daughter of the local village blacksmith. (1999-03-07) The Unpassremarkable Man (Hugh Leonard, read by David Kelly) A self-effacing Dubliner faces a crisis in his family. When he gets support from an old friend, their relationship starts to change. (1999-03-13) A Letter From Home (Helen Fallon, read by Abi Eniola) While her husband is studying at university in Ireland, Khadiata is lonely and misses her African home. (1999-03-14) Everything In This Country Must (Colum McCann, read by Sarah Dobson) When a trapped horse is freed by a group of soldiers, it has dramatic consequences for a young girl and her father. (1999-03-20) Loose Head (Tommy Frank O'Connor, read by Frank McCusker) A young, macho rugby player finds himself being drawn to a painting and a painter. (1999-03-21) Humpty Dumpty (wri/read by Christopher Fitz-Simon) When Mr Pudsey organises a trip for the Rural Housewives' Association of Ireland, not everything goes according to plan. (1999-03-27) Teacher's Pets (Maurice Leitch, read by Ian McElhinney) A former pupil recalls taking revenge on his first teacher. (1999-03-28) Travel (Orla Murphy, read by Gina Moxley) A poor, lonely young woman despairs at the drabness of her home and yearns for the great getaway, when a brain wave gives her the solution to both for free. (1999-04-03) Inside The Whale (Fay Weldon, read by Oliver Ford Davies) When Sir Larry Hamstock proposes to Wendy, she accepts his offer in a business-like way. (1999-04-04) Black Walls (Liu Xin-Wu, trans Alice Childs, read by Paul Courtenay Hyu) Mr Zhou is painting his walls, but the local community is worried by the colour. Will they complain? (1999-04-10) One Centimetre (Bi Shu-Min, trans/read by Carolyn Choa) Tao Ying takes her son to visit the local temple. But should she pay his entrance fee? (1999-04-11) The Window (Mo Shen, trans Kuang Wendong, read by Sarah Lam) Yunan is a booking clerk at a train station. From her window, she has the perfect opportunity to serve the people. (1999-04-17; Rpt) Nightingale (Nan Woodhouse, read by Elizabeth Conboy) Julia Margaret Cameron was a renowned 19th-century photographer. In this story, a young maidservant, Sarah, poses for her and is taken under her wing. But for how long can Sarah enjoy this enchanted part of her life? (1999-04-18; Rpt) My Last Brassiere (Mary Flanagan, read by Buffy Davis) In 1950s New York, a woman throws away her bra. (1999-04-24; Rpt) Give Me My Wars (Diran Adebayo, read by Eddie Nestor) A man with a secret reflects on the underachievements of those in his neighbourhood. (1999-04-25; Rpt) My Children Are Movers (Grace Nichols, read by Adjoa Andoh) A Caribbean woman recalls the experiences of her scattered, migrated children. (1999-05-01; Rpt) Windrush Talking Heads - Out Of Hand (Jackie Kay, read by Marianne Jean-Baptiste) How was it that when Rose arrived in England in 1948 on the SS Windrush, she thought she was coming home? (1999-05-02; Rpt) Pot Luck (Patrice Chaplin, read by Eve Karpf) Kay is happy with her life until she meets a gypsy and finds his charms impossible to resist. (1999-05-08; Rpt) Time Is Unredeemable (Attia Hosain, read by Shaheen Khan) After an arranged marriage at 16, Bano waits impatiently for her husband to return from England. When he arrives two years later, their reunion is not as she anticipated. (1999-05-09; Rpt) The Fantastic Bubble (Pam Weaver, read by Sunny Ormonde) A fantastic bubble floating freely in a crowded, stationary tube train provokes some unexpected reactions from the passengers. (1999-05-15 to 16; Rpt) Lyrical Ballads - Sean Bean and Kathryn Hunt read from the `Lyrical Ballads' by Wordsworth and Coleridge, first published 201 years ago. (1999-05-22 to 23; Rpt) Crime Stories (Ian Rankin, read by Steven McNicholl & Billy Riddoch) 1: The Only True Comedian - First of two specially commissioned stories by thriller writer Ian Rankin. 2: Unlucky In Love, Unlucky At Cards - The misfortunes of an Aberdeenshire private eye. (1999-05-29 to 30; Rpt) Fictional Familiars 1: Interval At Ouchy (Patricia Hannah, read by Hilary Neville) - Ouchy is where tragic heroines go to pass the time while their authors are thinking of other things. 2: That Innocent Bird (Shena Mackay, read by Michael Mackenzie) - A garrulous parrot reveals the secrets of her seafaring owner's colourful past. (1999-06-05; Rpt) I Take Back My Country (Bartho Schmidt, read by Peter Cartwright) An art critic is captivated by the work of a poor black painter living in a Johannesburg township. (1999-06-06; Rpt) Night At The Ford (Elise Muller, read by Janet Suzman) A haughty sales rep is forced to learn a harsh lesson in life when offered the proud hospitality of a poor farming couple. (NB: This was also billed as I Take Back My Country, presumably in error) (1999-06-12; Rpt) Negligee (Deborah Davies, read by Cler Stephens. In anticipation of her honeymoon, Grace buys a sea-green chiffon nightgown and a bottle of perfume the colour of apricot juice. (1999-06-13; Rpt) Voice Of The Little Man (Rhidian Brook, read by David Holt. Is poet M W Ridge really a man of the people as he claims and why does he wear expensive boots? (1999-06-19; Rpt) Sightings Of Bono (Gerry Beirne, read by Pauline McLynn) An unexpected `Bono sighting' quickly becomes an obsession when Ellen starts to spot the superstar everywhere she turns. (1999-06-20; Rpt) Sirens (Jane S Flynn, read by Pat Laffan) Two French tourists in a small Clare town create a riotous fantasy for a local bachelor. (NB: Not marked as a repeat, but they usually are.) (1999-06-26; Rpt) Big Two-Hearted River (Ernest Hemingway, read by Bob Sherman) A one-man fishing expedition with some of the finest descriptions in the English language. (1999-06-27; Rpt) Soldier's Home (Ernest Hemingway, read by Bob Sherman) Krebs finds that returning to civilian life after a period in the military is not as easy as he thought. (1999-07-03 to 04: Rpt) On The Fringe 1: The Valhalla Dispatch (Brian Hennigan, read by Tom Smith) Recorded at the Pleasance Cabaret at last year's Edinburgh Festival. A Scottish granny requests an unconventional funeral. 2: Cameron Spooner's Ultimate Drapery (Iain Grant, read by Michael Mackenzie) A celebration of the life and times of the Scottish entertainer who channelled his love of bureaucracy into popular song. (1999-07-10 to 08-01: Rpt) Tales We Tell 1: The Rules (Zoe Fairbairns, read by Gwen Taylor) The rules are what keep a relationship together, especially when there are more than two people involved. Only when the rules are broken do things start to become complicated. 2: Half Left (Harriet Kline, read by Jenny Funnel) Valerie is married to a buffoon. She cannot divorce her husband because of his bad jokes - relentless joviality does not count as unreasonable behaviour - so how will she survive? 3: A Mother Always Knows (Sara Maitland, read by Diana Quick) The Lady Jocasta tells her version of the events that followed the killing of the king and the outwitting of the sphinx by the young stranger who is her son. 4: The Secret Powers Of Mary Galt (Anna Burns, read by Diane O'Kelly) Mary Galt loses her mother and best friend in the Troubles but, in so doing, discovers something very special about herself. 5: Toccata & Fugue (Micheline Wandor, read by Patricia Hodge) An actress in midlife, her partner, a young journalist - behind them, the historical figure of the Italian princess Isabella D'Este. 6: Holy (Bidisha, read by Amita Dhiri) A successful young writer looks back on how she met and fell in love with Luca. Five years on she questions why. 7: Angel On The Roof (Shirley Hughes, read by Jonathan Firth) Lewis Brown leads a solitary life until he discovers that an angel is living on the roof of his parents' house. (NB: Not billed as part of the series, but the next day's was.) 8: The Palace Of Physical Culture (Valerie Miner, read by Beth Porter) A fiftieth birthday present of a summer pass to the gym opens up a world of new physical and emotional experience for its recipient. (1999-08-07; Rpt) The Melting Bed (Emily Perkins, read by Emma Fielding) The effects of dishonesty on different people. (1999-08-08; Rpt) Bubblegum (Adam Thorpe, read by Shiv Grewal) He should have kissed her, but the scent of bubblegum stood for pain, not pleasure. (1999-08-14; Rpt) The Man Who Read John Dickson Carr (William Brittain, read by Mark Leake) A ruthless young man sets out to commit the perfect murder. (1999-08-15; Rpt) Not All Brides Are Beautiful (Sharyn McCrumb, read by Elizabeth McGovern) A local newspaper reporter uncovers a serious miscarriage of justice. (1999-08-21; Rpt) The Cry Of A Violin (Seymour Shubin, read by Ed Bishop) A solo violin performance by a child prodigy leads to two brutal killings. (1999-08-22; Rpt) Funny You Should Ask (Lawrence Block, read by Nathan Osgood) An over-inquisitive young man and a pair of second-hand jeans are the ingredients of a bizarre crime. (1999-08-28 to 09-05; Rpt) Scraping The Sky (Julia Darling) 1: Safety - People who spend much of their life high above the ground. Read by Kevin Whately. 2: The Stonemason - People who spend much of their life high above the ground. Read by Barbara Marten. 3: The Window Cleaner - People who spend much of their life high above the ground. Read by Rashid Karapiet. 4: Virtue & Mercy - People who spend much of their life high above the ground. Read by Barbara Marten. (1999-09-11 to 19; Rpt) Cautionary Tales (Hilaire Belloc, read by Alan Bennett) 1: Bennett reads from Belloc's classic, and poet Ian McMillan reads new contemporary tales of his own. 2: Bennett reads from Belloc's classic, and poet Sophie Hannah reads new contemporary tales of her own. 3: Bennett reads from Belloc's classic, and poet Matthew Sweeney reads new contemporary tales of his own. 4: Bennett reads from Belloc's classic, and poet Glyn Maxwell reads new contemporary tales of his own. (1999-09-25; Rpt) Amy's Orchids (Sian James, read by Stevie Parry) When Edward opens a cafe, he calls it `Amy's Orchids' after his mother. It is soon the talk of Cardiff. (1999-09-26; Rpt) Mercer Preece Ra? (Gee Williams, read by Manon Edwards) When Meryl discovers a little-known Victorian artist, his paintings prove rather popular. What a pity her own abstract works do not sell as well. (1999-10-02; Rpt) Angel Fish (Frances Bell, read by Kay Gallie) Two ageing ladies share a passion for swimming. They also happen to share a husband, although without the passion. (1999-10-03; Rpt) Cutting Back (Tamar Hodes, read by Geraldine Fitzgerald) The cottage had been the catalyst which brought Tilda and Julian together. Two years on, it appears that the financial burden of it might tear them apart - until the night they decide to show each other their work. (1999-10-09; Rpt) A Recollection (Mavis Gallant, read by Anton Lesser) A Jewish woman, about to flee Paris during the Nazi occupation, takes with her a yellow star as a souvenir. (1999-10-10; Rpt) Agoraphobix (Sian Preece, read by Carol Ann Crawford) A young Welshwoman living in France finds everyday chores a real burden, particularly after falling out with her Scottish partner. (1999-10-16; Rpt) The Trouble With Clara (Alison White, read by Penny Downie) The trouble with Clara is that she is one of those women who wants all men to adore her, and they usually do. But the trouble with Annie is she is that she is not about to give up her husband without a fight. (1999-10-17; Rpt) Gregory's Leap (Ray Jenkin, read by Andy Rivers) How does the glimpse of a boy flying on his skateboard inspire Fr Gregory and restore his faith in God? (1999-10-23; Rpt) Saving Mr Ugwu (Linda Anderson, read by Ben Onwukwe) Racial tension between a Lagos businessman and his Hausa workers in the Nigerian bush. (1999-10-24; Rpt) Snaps (David Cunningham, read by Liam Brennan) `Examine any photo in which I appear and you will be forgiven for assuming that I am a mad second cousin relegated to the sidelines.' A young man contemplates his outside position in the family photograph album. (1999-10-30; Rpt) The Smell Of The Sea (Annie Arnold, read by J J Murphy) On his first day in his new parish, a young curate is sent on a sick call to the Murphy family home. When he gets there, the dying man and his two sisters reveal a terrible secret. (1999-10-31; Rpt) Pilar (Neil Donnelly, read by Pat Laffan) While teaching English, a writer meets a mysterious Spanish student who begins to haunt his life. (1999-11-06; Rpt) Strange Behaviour (Patrick Cunningham, read by David Timson) The McTimoneys have never been very good neighbours. Now it seems they are less popular than ever before. (1999-11-07; Rpt) Things That You Miss (Richard Madelin, read by Adjoa Andoh) A daughter takes charge of her father's future, but there is life in the old man yet. (1999-11-13; Rpt) Knowing Margaret (Frances Galleymore, read by Barbara Barnes) Theresa has come to England to visit a sister she has never met and to find out about a mother she never knew. (1999-11-14; Rpt) The Prodigal Parent (Mavis Gallant, read by Bob Sherman) A man drives across Canada in the hope that his estranged daughter will take care of him in his old age. (1999-11-20; Rpt) The Seahorse (Tamar Hodes, read by Tim Pigott-Smith) Lawrence Walker, professor of English and author of `The Metaphysical Poets', had a seahorse tattooed on his left buttock. His wife Mary took three days to get over it, and then wondered what other secrets he might have. (1999-11-21; Rpt) From Time To Time (Pippa Gladhill, read by Christian Rodska) Once there was a couple, Jane and John, who one day, quite unintentionally, broke the time barrier. (1999-11-27; Rpt) The Pilgrimage (Brian Lomas, read by Dorothy Tutin) Old wounds begin to heal when Kitty and John revisit an old holiday haunt to remember their daughter. So why does John have to go and spoil it all? (1999-11-28; Rpt) Poetic Justice (Joe Hollins, read by Nigel Anthony) John's wife loved ornamental fish while he enjoyed gardening. So when the water board wanted to tunnel under their new fish pond, he was understandably angry and just a little worried. (1999-12-04; Rpt) Fireweed (Gee Williams, read by Sue Jones Davies) Wild fireweed grows on the wasteland opposite Willa's house. How will its destruction by local builders change her life? (1999-12-05; Rpt) The House Sitter (Collin Johnson) Johnson reads her story, which takes a wry and satirical look at the impact wealth can have on one's friends. (1999-12-11 to 19; Rpt) Chosen For Christmas 1: Baboushka (Arthur Scholey, read by Diana Rigg) 2: Christmas At Dingley Dell (Charles Dickens, abr Jane Marshall, read by Derek Jacobi) 3: The Snow Queen (Hans Christian Andersen, read by Judi Dench) 4: A Child's Christmas In Wales (Dylan Thomas, read by Joss Ackland) (1999-12-25) No programme. (1999-12-26; Rpt) Nay, Ivy, Nay (Shena Mackay, read by Crawford Logan) A modern-day fairy tale for Christmas. Ivy covets a sprig of white-berried holly, cultivated by a botany professor in his garden, to decorate her Christmas pudding. THE CLASSIC SERIAL3:00pm Sundays; Individual synopses where available (1999-01-03 to 10) The Rose & The Ring (William Makespeace Thackeray, adap Ellen Dryden, dir Don Taylor) w/Prunella Scales and Maureen Lipman 1: Rome 1853. Unable to find any Christmas entertainment for the children in his charge, Thackeray invents his own fireside pantomime to keep them amused: a story of two kingdoms, two kings and two princesses, lions, magic, battles, a rose and a ring. 2: Prince Bulbo faces execution, Prince Giglio is on the run, Betsinda's true identity remains undiscovered and King Valoroso's breakfast is getting cold. Meanwhile, Countess Gruffanuff and Fairy Blackstick have plans of their own for the four young lovers. (1999-01-17 to 30) Dona Flor & Her Two Husbands (Jorge Amado, dram Stuart Morris, dir David Hunter) w/Lesley Carvello, Tristan Sturrock and Lloyd Notice 1: No Wake Without Rum. In Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, Dona Flor, the youthful and sensuous proprietor of a cooking school, is wooed by the disreputable but utterly charming Vadinho. 2: Lips That Kiss. In Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, seven years of tempestuous but passionate marriage to the dissolute Vadinho have left the young widow Dona Flor aching with loss and desire. 3: Second Coming. In Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, the young widow Dona Flor has married the respectable, bassoon-playing pharmacist, Dr Teodoro. But she is not allowed to forget the dissolute Vadinho, her first husband. (1999-02-07 to 27) Joseph Andrews (Henry Fielding, dram Dominic Power, dir Michael Fox) w/Norman Roway, Matthew Dunster, Gabrielle Drake, Brigit Forsyth and Trevor Peacock - Fielding's comic masterpiece is a riotous journey through the morals and manners of high and low society. 1: Joseph's special talents are spotted by Lady Booby, who employs him as her footman, forcing him to leave behind his country sweetheart and find his fortune in London. 2: Joseph and his friend Parson Adams are at the mercy of the Tow-Wouses until they can find some money. Meanwhile, Fanny sets out in search of Joseph. 3: Joseph finds himself tempted by an old flame, while Fanny and Parson Adams fall foul of the law. 4: Joseph is raised to the gentry but finds this is no consolation when his sweetheart, Fanny, is revealed to be his long-lost sister. (1999-03-07 to 14; Rpt) The Tin Drum (Gunter Grass, dram Mike Walker, dir Peter Kavanagh) w/Phil Daniels, Kenneth Cranham, Lesley Manville, Stephen Critchlow, Tracy Wiles, David Collings and Jane Whittenshaw. 1: Germany 1930. Hitler rises to power. Three-year-old Oskar decides to stop growing and talking. Instead, he plays his tin drum through the dark years of Nazism. 2: The Second World War is raging. Oskar, on the run, discovers sex, jazz and the black market. Soon his mad drumming will make him a star. (1999-03-21 to 28) The Awakening (Kate Chopin, dram Jyll Bradley, dir Jonquil Panting) w/Lorelei King, Briony Glassco and Matilda Ziegler - One woman's pursuit of moral and sexual freedom in turn-of-the-century New Orleans. 1: Over a long hot summer, Edna Pontellier learns to swim. 2: Her summer affair may be over, but Edna's life will never be the same. (1999-04-04 to 18) Villette (Charlotte Bronte, dram James Friel with Lucy McCormack, dir Enyd Williams, Catherine Bailey & James Friel) w/Catherine McCormack, Sheila Reid, Benedict Rodbourne, Joseph Fiennes and Harriet Walter. 1: Lucy Snowe - Bronte's rich and remarkable story of a woman growing in self knowledge, utterly modern in its understanding of love and obsession. 2: Doctor John - Having safely established herself at Madame Beck's school, Lucy has yet to face madness, love and a haunting. 3: Monsieur Paul - Lucy's passionate involvement with Monsieur Paul deepens, but there are storms ahead. (1999-04-25 to 05-02) Voss (Patrick White, dram Julia Stoneham. ) The Nobel Prize for Literaturing winning author's novel. 1: German explorer Voss is determined to lead a trek across the centre of Australia. Before he leaves, he meets an English girl with whom he forms a strange and passionate relationship. With Robert Menzies and Pamela Rabe. Directed by Janet Whitaker. Jonathan Keeble. Director Enyd Williams. 2: Voss and Laura's relationship becomes increasingly obsessive in their minds as the physical distance between them grows and the hardship on the trek increases. With Robert Menzies and Pamela Rabe. Director Janet Whitaker. Jonathan Keeble. Director Enyd Williams. (1999-05-09 to 16) The Well Of Loneliness (Radclyffe Hall, adap Sarah Woods, dir Melanie Harris) w/Valerie Edmond, Alexandra Bateman and Roberta Kerr - The classic lesbian novel by Hall is the story of one woman's desperate attempt to love and be loved. (1999-05-23) The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, dir Tim Dee) w/John Nettles, Ken Smith and Philip Madoc - Coleridge's poem, here dramatised for radio, was composed and first published 200 years ago. It has remained a quotable favourite ever since, while arguments abound over what it all means. Why does the mariner shoot the albatross and is the poem a Christian parable? (1999-05-30 to 06-13) Daniel Deronda (George Eliot, dram Robert Forrest, dir Patrick Rayner) w/Anna Chancellor, Michael Perceval-Maxwell and James Bryce - Eliot's novel of love and idealism. 1: From the first haunting moment when their eyes meet across a crowded gaming room, the young Daniel Deronda is as drawn to the alluring Gwendolen Harleth as she is to him. 2: Gwendolen is now trapped in a cruel and loveless marriage with Henleigh Grandcourt. Meanwhile, her friend Mr Deronda has a fateful meeting on the banks of the Thames. 3: In the sun-drenched port of Genoa, Gwendolen and Daniel's fates become eternally and tragically entwined. (1999-06-20 to 27) The Plutocrat (Booth Tarkington, dram Michael Hastings, dir Bill Bryden) w/Leslie Caron, Stacy Keach, Elizabeth McGovern, Alan Cox, Rachel Pickup and Francois Xavier-Noah. 1: Outward Bound. 2: The Last Of The Romans. (1999-07-04 to 11; Rpt) The Hound Of The Baskervilles (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dram Bert Coules) With Clive Merrison, Michael Williams, Judi Dench and Donald Sinden. Director Enyd Williams. 1: The Powers Of Evil - An ancient legend and a terrifying demon plague a noble family. 2: Death On The Moor - The curse of the Baskervilles claims its final victim. (1999-07-18 to 08-01) The Dragon Can't Dance (Earl Lovelace) With Rudolph Walker, Malcolm Frederick and Martina Laird. Director Ralph Rolls. 1: Jouvay - Calvary Hill, Port of Spain, Trinidad, in the early 60s, 125 years after the emancipation from slavery. Jouvay (Jour Ouvert) opens the two days of carnival by calling forth the New Day. 2: Mardi Gras - Carnival in Port of Spain, Trinidad, is at its height on the day before Lent begins. Pariag, the Indian, causes an uproar in the Yard on Calvary Hill by buying a bicycle. `A bike is showing off,' says Miss Cleothilda, the ageing Queen of the Carnival. The Yard takes its revenge. 3: Ash Wednesday - Aldrick and Fisheye lead an armed rebellion against the police but pay the price with five years in prison. (1999-08-08 to 15) Swallows & Amazons (Arthur Ransome, dram David Wood) With Penny Downie, Joe Sowerbutts, Phoebe Phillips, Flora Harris and John Paul Ekins. Directors Louise Armitage and Catherine Bailey. 1: The Lake District, 1929. On holiday with their mother, the four eldest Walker children form the crew of the Swallow and set sail for an island in the centre of a lake. When they encounter the crew of a rival ship, the Amazon, sparks begin to fly. 2: `The Lake District, 1929'. The Swallows and the Amazons band together against the hostile Captain Flint, but encounter an unexpected adventure when Uncle Jim's cabin trunk goes missing. (1999-08-22 to 09-05) Lady Audley's Secret (Mary Elizabeth Braddon, dram Bryony Lavery) With Robert Bowman, Terrence Hardiman, Francesca Annis and Leonie Mellinger. Director Annie Castledine. 1: Essex, the 1860s. Sir Michael Audley is besotted with his young second wife, Lady Lucy Audley, but his daughter cannot tolerate her new stepmother and his barrister nephew thinks there is something about her that does not add up. 2: The secrets that surround Audley Court and its new mistress, the mysterious Lady Audley, are hunted out by Robert Audley, the handsome young barrister turned amateur detective. 3: Robert Audley finally uncovers Lady Audley's secret, but having fallen in love with with his step-aunt, he now faces a terrible choice. (1999-09-12 to 26) Sons & Lovers (D H Lawrence, dram Michael Butt) With Benedict Sandiford, Elizabeth Estensen and Clive Russell. Director Claire Grove. 1: Paul Morel is born into a Nottinghamshire mining family at the turn of the century. His father is a hard-working, hard-drinking miner, his mother a refined woman of middle-class aspirations. As family conflict grows, Paul's mother turns to her sons. 2: Gertrude Morel's unhappy marriage makes her cling to both her sons. Paul gets a job and begins to win prizes for his paintings, but as his adolescent friendship with the beautiful Miriam develops, his mother becomes bitterly jealous. 3: Now in his twenties, Paul Morel has fallen in love with Clara, a married woman. Since the death of his brother, all his mother's hopes are focused on him. On impulse, he seeks out his first love, Miriam, of whom his mother is bitterly jealous. (1999-10-03) The Vicar Of Wakefield (Oliver Goldsmith, adap Christopher Denys) With Peter Jeffrey, Sunny Ormonde and Michael Cochrane. Director Sue Wilson. 1: The humorous adventures of the ever optimistic Rev Charles Primrose, who loses his fortune. He sets off with his despairing family through storms and floods to embrace a life of poverty in a rural Pennine parish. 2: Engaging Olivia's affections, Squire Thornhill becomes a regular visitor to the Primroses. But rather than elevation to the higher echelons of society, infamy and deception are afoot. 3: The Rev Primrose sets off to find his wayward daughter and finds his faith severely tested by what he uncovers. (1999-10-25 to 31) Grand Hotel (Vicki Baum, dram Malcolm McKee) With Estelle Kohler, Steven Pacey, David Bradley and Richard Derrington. Director Sue Wilson. 1: The best hotel in Berlin entertains the famous and infamous. Grusinskaya, a prima ballerina, blames her diminishing audiences on the pearls that up to now, have been her talisman. But someone is set to steal them - and her heart. 2: The baron schemes to replenish his fortune. The industrialist seeks distractions from the pressure of business and the clerk is determined to taste the decadent pleasures of Berlin. Staff at the hotel are very discreet. (1999-11-07 to 21) The Bell (Iris Murdoch, dram Michael Bakewell) With Cathryn Bradshaw, Crispin Redman, Charlie Simpson, Struan Rodger, Nicholas Farrell and Nicholas Boulton. Director Jane Morgan. 1: Sex and religion come into conflict in this story of a lay community which is seriously disturbed by the arrival of an errant wife who has decided to return to her husband. 2: A new bell is due to arrive at the Abbey, but Dora is haunted by the story of the old bell and of the death that it foretold. Raising the bell from the lake required almost supernatural strength, and Dora is determined to continue playing the witch in the holy community of Imber. (1999-11-28 to 12-05) The Aeneid (Virgil, trans C Day Lewis, adap Tom Holland) Ralph Fiennes and Sir Derek Jacobi star in Virgil's epic poem. With Gina McKee, Diana Quick, Anna Massey and Andrew Sachs. 1: After the fall of Troy, Prince Aeneas is forced to seek a new land and a new destiny. His adventures take him to Carthage, where he falls in love with Queen Dido, but their happiness soon comes to a tragic end. 2: After many trials and tribulations, Trojan prince Aeneas and his men arrive on the west coast of Italy. Soon war breaks out with local rivals. (1999-12-12 to 19; Rpt) Cider With Rosie (Laurie Lee, adap Nick darke) Tim McInnerny and Niamh Cusack star in Darke's two-part adaptation of the evergreen autobiography which was recorded in and around the Slad Valley. With Sunny Leworthy, Jennifer Compton, Emily Parish and Paul Currier. Directors: Viv Beeby and Jeremy Howe. 1: The Lee family arrive in their new home. 2: Young Loll experiences his first taste of the adult world. (1999-12-26) No programme. LATE NIGHT ON 411:00pm Weekdays; Drama entries only (1999-01-04) Cheese Makes You Dream (Kara Miller) w/Charlotte Purton and Anna Niland - By the winner of last year's Black Broadcast competition. A spine-chilling drama about two unsuspecting young hitchhikers picked up in a city centre of Britain, never to be seen again. (1999-01-11 to 02-01; Rpt) Espedair Street (Iain Banks, dram Joe Dunlop, dir Dave Batchelor) w/John Gordon-Sinclair and Louise MacPherson 1: Paul Gambaccini presents the real story behind the rise and fall of one of the big 70s bands - Frozen Gold. 2: The group signs an album deal that sets a rock industry record. But what does Sexy Christine do on Top of the Pops that sets the nation alight? 3: The band is at the height of fame and Weird, the songwriting genius from a Paisley housing scheme, is feeling guilty about his obscene wealth. But then he causes an accident. 4: Did Weird kill himself, as was reported in the daily press, or is he alive and responsible for two deaths in the band? Can he make up for at least one of the mistakes in his life? (1999-02-08 to 03-08) Fear On 4, Series 6 - Only two new entries, plus three repeats from 1997. 1: The Hairy Hand Of Dartmoor (Michael McStay, dir Ned Chaillet) w/Struan Rodger, Emily Richard and Angela Pleasence - Alcohol, anger, infidelity and stories of Dartmoor witches and the hairy hand are the ingredients in a cocktail party that goes dangerously awry for Geoffrey. 2: The Blood Of Eva Bergen (Paul Sirett) w/John Church, Tilly Gaunt and Giles Fagan - Claire is a talented young pianist who falls under the spell of Iliev, a musician haunted by a woman called Eva Bergen and the power that she once had over him. 3: Net Suicide (Rpt from 04/09/97; Stephen Wyatt, dir David Hunter) w/Gerard McDermott, Tracey-Ann Oberman, David Brooks and John Rowe - Michael Scantgrace is a City dealer facing ruin when he stumbles across the Suicide Club on the internet. Should he sign up? 4: Tissue Memory (Rpt from 16/10/97; Judy Upton, dir David Blount) w/Rachel Atkins, Kim Wall, John Rowe, Gerard McDermott and Carolyn Jones - Anna has a healthy new heart. But who was the donor? And how did she die? 5: The Chimes Of Midnight (Rpt from 02/10/97; Nick Fisher, dir Marion Nancarrow) w/David Suchet, John Rowe and Jenny Lee - A theoretical physicist's consuming passion leads him into a great deal of trouble. (NB: The listings titled this entry as simply Prepared To Be Scared?) (1999-03-15) The Prettiest Girl In Texas (Sebastian Baczkiewicz, dir Claire Grove) w/Stuart Milligan and Laurel Lefko - In a deluxe motel room on the outskirts of Dallas, Brenda and her brother Cort wait impatiently for the arrival of a very special client. But Brenda, once voted the prettiest girl in Texas, is getting cold feet. (1999-03-22) Muse Of Fusion (Tanika Gupta, dir Kristine Landon-Smith) w/Nabil Elouabhi and Parminder K Nagra - The Asian music scene is raw and sexy. Scratching, bhangra and rap all play their part in an exploding club scene. Firoz, a talented DJ, adds poetry to this fusion of sound. After a tragic accident, he retreats to his room and nothing his sister Zabeen can do will get him out. However, an important gig is on the horizon. (1999-03-29) The Meaning Of Lunch (Tim Anfiligoff, dir Malcolm Hebden) w/Christopher Wright, Joseph Long and Chris Pavlo - Lunchtime at Luigi's and Arthur is struggling to keep control. His chef is homicidal and one of the customers is bulimic. When lunch ends with a stabbing, a strangled policeman and a writer in tears, what can it all mean? (1999-03-30; Rpt) Mad Man Blue (Tracy Aston, dir Jocelyn Boxall) w/Roy Hudd - The unassuming but irrepressible Bloomer gets involved in a feud with his neighbour. Will he come out of his suburban nightmare unscathed? (1999-04-05) Plunger (Johnny Meres) w/Johnny Meres, James Bryce and Monica Gibb - Thirty-nine-year-old office worker Mike Wainwright is making his first parachute jump. Unfortunately, it also looks like his last. (1999-04-12 to 05-10) Voyage (Stephen Baxter, dram/dir Dirk Maggs) w/Laurel Lefkow and Vincent Marzello 1: 1969-1971: Decision - JFK survived the 1963 Dallas shootings. Now, as Project Apollo reaches the moon, he issues a new challenge - a manned mission to Mars. 2: 1972-1980: Trajectories - If Nixon orders NASA to mount a manned Mars mission, Natalie will have to decide if she wants to compete for a place. 3: 1980: Apollo-N - Natalie York has qualified as an astronaut, but the Apollo-N nuclear booster test is about to change her life for ever. 4: 1981-1985: Approaches - Following the Apollo-N disaster, Natalie's prospects look bleak. 5: 1985-1986: Ares - The first manned mission to Mars lifts off on a perilous journey of discovery - both scientific and personal. The following were broadcast in the Late Night On 4 slot, although not subtitled as such. (1999-05-17 to 30) Secret Window, Secret Garden (Stephen King, dram Gregory Evans, dir Gordon House) w/Henry Goodman and William Roberts. 1: Best-selling novelist Morton Rainey is astounded to be accosted on his doorstep one morning by a man who claims that Rainey has stolen a story from him. 2: Morton's cat has been killed and his house burned down. John Shooter, the man who has accused Morton of stealing his short story, is evidently an extremely dangerous fanatic. 3: Mort Rainey's life is in turmoil. His house has been burned down, his cat killed and his literary reputation besmirched. Now it appears he will be framed for murder. (1999-07-07) Pollyphony (Tiziano Scarpa) In Italy, a lovers' tiff is soon mended, but for Luciana, there are more unpalatable truths to discover when Loreto the parrot reveals all. With Chris Emmett and Sunny Ormonde. Director Sue Wilson. (1999-07-21 to ) Nightmoves (Rob Gittens, dir Alison Hindell) Four plays set in Cardiff city centre. 1: The Police Officer's Tale - Faulty satellite dishes, domestic violence and frozen chickens in casualty are all part of the night's work for Toni and Conor on the graveyard shift. With Erica Eirian, Robert Harper, Eiry Thomas and Bill Bellamy. 2: The Madam's Tale - Mairead just wants to focus on the imminent arrival of her long-lost daughter, but her clients keep getting in the way. With Helen Griffin, Clare Isaac and Erica Eirian. (1999-06-21 to 07-12) Nightmoves (Rob Gittens) Four plays set in Cardiff city centre. With Erica Eirian, Robert Harper, Eiry Thomas, Bill Bellamy, Gareth Harris, Brendan Charleson, Iestyn Jones, Brendan Charleson and Helen Griffin. Director Alison Hindell. 1: The Police Officer's Tale - Faulty satellite dishes, domestic violence and frozen chickens in casualty are all part of the night's work for Toni and Conor on the graveyard shift. 2: The Madam's Tale - Mairead just wants to focus on the imminent arrival of her long-lost daughter, but her clients keep getting in the way. 3: The Bouncer's Tale - Leanne has got enough on her plate without extra pressure from Jed to turn a blind eye. 4: The Taxi Driver's Tale - A new day is dawning in Cardiff, but events in Chris's life are less predictable. (1999-08-31) Be Mitty - Two ordinary women are invited to live out their wildest Walter Mitty-esque fantasies with the the help of improv actors and sound effects. Lyn Webster-Wilde becomes an Amazonian priestess, and Heather Nixon meets artist Howard Hodgkin. Barry Hodge, 2012 |
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